


Eat me Drink me

by vialactea



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-02-27 07:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2683679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vialactea/pseuds/vialactea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Hibarin will never be alone again. 1827 children story. AU Arcobaleno Parents of Tsunayoushi</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Heaven's Breath -Prelude-

_(Once upon a time, they loved you once.)_

In a story of long, long, ago-there was a lonely little boy. He had thick hair that looked like fresh coal just set in the fireplace; usually his elder brother would do this chore. His eyes were a heather that made you think of a pearl necklace, like the one his mother used to wear in significant occasions. He was tall for his age (he had probably gotten his looks from his father), although no one would ever think twice to reassure themselves 'He is ten.' It was right before 'nine', a number of completion. A good solid number. A good solid number to die.

Ten is where you should wait for a reckoning.

Hibarin on the weekdays liked to slide down on the handles of the stairs. His cape flowing behind him like fire on a motorcycle. For a self-proclaimed vampire, he felt extremely proud of his 'castle'. His parents were owners of this mansion and he successfully drove off all herbivores that even attempted to set foot in his family's abode. He would suck them to death for even thinking that.

He would do this for many years because he is a ghost child, one angry, sad, little spook . He was never much of a crowd follower, and that was the reason he told himself that he could not get into heaven.

No, it wasn't.

* * *

Inside the automobile Tsunayoushi coloured his colouring book, the one that was special to him because it used to belong to his parents, that, and the crayons were a gift from Viper and he knew that particular Auntie did not like wasting money on such things. He looked up and saw the fields of the country side swaying in the breeze and all it made him do was miss the city. Although he knew moving to the countryside was safer, his Aunties and Uncles who took care of him were only doing so for protection. It was war time in the city and at night he would hear bombs dropping, 'Boom! Boom!' like those films that Uncle Reborn used to watch. Reborn did not watch them anymore, he always said "Why watch a movie like that when all I have to do is look outside?"

A child did not understand the purpose of war. But he did know the concept of fear, pain, he understood the wailing of mothers and cries of soldiers. Luce says "That boy was born in the worst of times. He has a soft heart. Like the inside of a peach." She spoke this as Skull came back to the house with blood pouring out of his stomach, but the others just attended his wounds and were just glad he came back. And they joked about that often. That Skull would one day appear with half of his body torn off yelling at the top of his lungs "I'M HOME!" He always came back.

"How are you bǎobèi ?"

Tsunayoushi looks up at Fong, his Uncle with long dark hair in a braid, his features delicate but strong. He looks at the child through the front mirror.

"Are you thirsty? Would you like to use the restroom?"

The child shook his head. The man smiled, his eyes shining in ardor.

"You'll be turning nine soon! Aiya! Such a lucky number, what type of cake do you want for your birthday?"

"An almond cake please...or a vanilla...or..."

"How about we just get both?" The Chinese man steered into their new house. For how long this time, even he did not know. But he did know it would be the longest they would ever stay at a home. "It is not enough for all of us and you know how much our family loves to eat."

They both walked out of the car and stood in front of the mansion,  _'It was tall as a hundred Reborns!'_  the little boy thought. He thought this because out of all his Uncles, Reborn was the tallest. The Italian would sometimes hold him and throw him up in the air and he would sometimes feel like he'd go up to the clouds or maybe heaven, somewhere far away from the bombs and the war and school tests and the blood.

The new place where they would stay at reminded him of an enchanted forest ( their backyard were the woods! ), and this mansion looked like a castle designed as a cottage house (if that made any sense) . Something out of a fairytale picture book, whimsical and with a beautiful garden in front. The windows were clear and the curtains were a rich floral print. Messy but elegant.

Fong clucked his tongue in approval. But right after this, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, he felt like he had seen this house a long time ago. He shrugged this off, he must be tired of the drive." Wonderful. Luce sure did outdo herself this time." He turns to the car and takes out their luggage from the trunk ( all the heavy things like furniture and stoves were moved ahead of time .) "Xiǎo-Shi." It was a nickname his Uncle Fong gave him, taking his first name and cutting it more than half leaving him with only a 'Shi' sound, nicknaming him 'little Tsunayoushi'. "Let's go inside and unpack. In the meantime I'll make tea and some dumplings."

* * *

"Xiǎo-Shi, you're room is on the second floor, the room nearest the restroom."

Tsunayoushi dawdled to his new room, pulling up his overalls as he began to walk up the stairs. But he stopped. And stared. He rubbed his eyes again and thought, he thought, he thought, he thought, that he saw someone walking up the stairs. He gulped, and wanted to go back to Fong, Fong and his warmness, his protection.

But he gulped down his fear, and thought of his Uncle Reborn and Uncle Colonnello's teachings. Uncle Colonnello was an American, loud and big, but not as tall as Uncle Reborn who was an Italian. He had yellow hair, the thought of yellow hair was preposterous, the color of food! Bananas, yellow curry and eggs! But the most favorite part of his Uncle were his blue eyes, little Tsunayoushi wished he had eyes like that, they looked like the ocean Aunt Luce took him to once. Uncle Colonnello always gave him a bear hug and little toys and trinkets after he arrived from the battlefield.

"Lil-Tuna, " He said in his joking and charming manner all the while ruffling Tsunayoushi's hair. " When the day something crazy happens, and  _shit_ , you'll  _know_  when it happens, promise me these few things." His Uncle used lots of swear words that his Aunt Lal scolded him for. "That you'll be brave for everyone ." He pointed to a box inside a vase. It was right near the staircase of their old house. "That you'll run to this place and get the gun and shoot. And don't stop until everyone drops."

"Won't they get hurt?" Tsunayoushi had always seen guns, they were a big part of his life and never remembers  _not_  seeing them. The only person who did not use a gun was Uncle Fong, but that was because his bare hands were enough to kill a man. He had seen it happen, Fong did it with the same eyes he used to kill a chicken for their supper.

He thought this was a bit strange and asked him why didn't he have a gun, but Uncle Fong would always tell him " Guns are bad because they kill." Does that mean his Uncles and Aunts were bad then? They told him they worked for the government and that was their job. It was all confusing so he hardly asked questions.

Colonnello did not want to tell the child ' _That's the point._ ' so he said something of a white lie, but it's funny, all lies are black. "Naw, nothing of that sort. They fall asleep. They'll come back up. You're just punishing them because they're naughty."

Reborn smacked Colonnello on the side of the head, with guess what? A gun. "Are you a moron? Look No-good Tsuna, guns kill. When someone tries to hurt you, you have to kill them." His Uncle's eyes turned into someone's he did not know. "Kill them before they kill you." He whispered. "Kill them and make them beg for mercy."

Colonnello looked at the Italian man sadly, but then nonchalantly began to cough. As to snap him out of it, calling him back. Reborn's eyes came back. Those eyes that were like cats came back.

But it will hurt them." Tsunayoushi continued . "I don't want to hurt others."

Collonello shook his head. "That boy ain't right." But what he really wanted to say was ' That boy is absolutely right. Killing is wrong but the only reason we do so is because of necessity.' All the men in his life tried to keep up a facade of steel, but the truth was that they were struggling between the line of animal and human. His five Uncles did horrible things (his three Aunts were more balanced) , to themselves, to others, but when they came back to the innocent child at home they could pretend for a while, not a long while, but a little while, that things were different.

They ignored what the child said and taught him how to shoot at six years old. Surprisingly, had good aim.

His thoughts came back to present day. And he was at the top of the stairs shivering. He had to be strong , brave, like Yamamoto from his old school who was the tallest kid in his class, and Gokudera the class bully . But that just made him feel more lonely. But, how could he be lonely? He thought. Fong is with me. Fong tells me he loves me enough for two people.

And maybe that was the problem.

* * *

Fong laid out tea and dumplings in his newly decorated kitchen, he was sure that Luce would be pleased at his choice of decorations. She, of course would add something to mix her personality.  _Probably something blue_ , he thought. He took out his small pocket book and checked a few things off his list. He laid the book down on the white table and pulled out a small communication device made by Verde.

"Reborn , Reborn are you there?" He trusted Verde's devices as much as he trusted his hands. He knew no one would track these signals down, no one would find their location. He expected nothing else from a Government scientist.

"I'm here , Fong." He heard screams, gunshots. All of them were already desensitized to these sorts of things. It was a job to them, no different than a street vendor or a baker.

"Reborn you're still there at the job?" He heard a gunshot, and silence.

"I just finished."

The refrigerator noise was the only thing heard, neither of them spoke.

"When will you be here with the others?"

"As soon as they finish with their current missions." That was it, Reborn always so straight to the point. You could call him many things but a liar wasn't one of them. "The whole city where we used to live was cleared off the map. The enemy went on a mass killing spree, the death toll was the greatest so far in war casualties." He said this as if he were cleaning his nails, giving himself a pedicure. "And, how's Tsunayoushi?" He changed the subject coarsely, no sneaking around.

"He seems a little tired. Also a bit sad about leaving. It's to be expected, after all the move happened so abruptly. It saddens me, I knew he was finally making some playmates." The Chinese man paused and did not add ' _that were probably dead now'_. "But it would be no good to tell him what really happened, we had to leave because we knew that place was to be exterminated."

The communication device was filled with white noise until the Italian spoke.

"No use telling him what we're really in the country side to do."

Fong smiled a sad smile.

"When do you think this war will be over?"

"As soon as one of them runs out of money. "

As soon as Reborn said this, Tsunayoushi pierced the air with a chilling scream.

Fong called out the child's name in urgency, his calm nature seemed like it did not belong to him." Tsunayoushi!" Fong quickly stood up on his feet, his chair falling down in the process. The receiver fell on the floor with a loud 'smack'. Fong wasn't even walking, he was gliding up the stairs in quick, fast steps and he kicked down the door of the child's room, the hinges of the door now broken and useless.

"Uncle Fong!" The child was on the bed curled up in a small ball. "There's something hiding under my bed!"

The Chinese man fell to the floor in relief; he released a sigh, a happy one. It was only a childish terror, just an imagination gone wild. " Oh." Is all the man said, as not to lose face. He picked up the door that he broke down and laid it to his side in a calm and elegant manner, as if he did not kick it down.

"I saw a boy! He told me he was going to suck me to death!" Tsunayoushi was trembling. His skin was pale. "It's all because I touched a toy I found in the dresser. It's a ghost! A ghost is mad because I took his toy away!"

Near the dresser was a small Nutcracker, it's face was shaped like a boy with dark hair. It resembled something of a vampire with its black cape and clothing. Fong picked it up.

" My, isn't this cute. Don't you think so?" It was as if his Uncle Fong had turned deaf! Did he not hear? " Tsunayoushi," he only used his first name when he was going to talk to him seriously. Man talk, he would say. "Don't ever scream like that again, I know it is hard to control yourself because you are still a child, but please try for our sake." By 'our' he meant his Uncles and Aunts. "Only use that scream when you are in trouble." They never told him what the 'trouble' would be, but he did not ask, he knew not to ask. It was a taboo subject among them.

Tsunayoushi nodded obediently. Ashamed he was such a bad child, causing his Uncle to worry, made him break down the door. It was his fault.

His Aunties and Uncles did not spoil him, not in the least. They punished him, a bit more sternly than others but it was war-time. They did so because they didn't wish for him to get hurt. And usually the ones that came out hurting more was not Tsunayoushi but his family. They knew they were too hard on him.

Tsunayoushi remembers a time he was forced to kneel on the floor for an hour with buckets on his head for breaking an important package. All the time Fong stared with tears on his eyes.

"Sorry, Uncle Fong."

But when he reached out to hug his Uncle he saw the little ghost stare at him at the top of the stares.

Tsunayoushi does not scream.

* * *

At lunch time Tsunayoushi takes his snacks into his room and makes a small little picnic spread. He places a plate for himself and adds napkins and small little toy animals for company. He contemplates for some time within him and finally takes out a second plate adding two dumplings on it. ( As not to seem greedy.)

"This is for you," He says to no one in particular. "Can we play?" Tsunayoushi asks in a quiet yet hopeful voice.

The room gets cold, like a sudden chill escaped from a window, as if it were winter. The little Nutcracker doll that Fong had placed once again on the dresser began to quiver and smoke came out of it's mouth. As the smoke dilapidated into the air it left behind a boy around his age, older, that was for certain. He looked liked the Nutcracker doll, down to it's clothes and all the way down to his shoes.

"I want you out of my house," The ghost child spoke. "But I will play with you for a little bit . You offered me food, it would be herbivorous of me not to repay the favor." He said this as he sat down, grabbing a dumpling, biting it with his teeth. They were not sharp. Why Tsunayoushi thought a ghost had sharp teeth was beyond him.

"Are you a ghost?" The brown haired boy asks. His eyes looking at the tea in front of him.

"Yes."

"How can you be a ghost," Tsunayoushi began, his mouth small and quivering. "If when you eat it doesn't go through you? How can you be a ghost if you can touch, see, feel and smell?"

Hibarin's eyes skimmed across from the toy he had begun to play with ( which belonged to Tsunayoushi) and said -

"I am not a proper ghost."

* * *

After several hours of playing the two children came to an agreement. Hibarin would not force the others to move as long as 'rent' was paid. By this he meant more 'food' more 'offerings.

"Give me ghost money." Hibarin demands.

Uncle Fong said that once you died they would have to bury you with paper money, so you could go and buy your way into heaven. But he said that it only worked on people that 'believed' in that sort of thinking. Tsunayoushi thought, but didn't say, that if people bribed their way into heaven then they didn't really deserve to go.

"If that was the case, " Reborn said, laughing through his noise. " I'll need enough money to fill three caskets."

Viper added, "I'd rather not get into heaven if I had to pay."

"Heaven is unscientific." Uncle Verde, his smartest Uncle added his two cents.

So yes, he thought he could get Hibarin these things. How hard could it be? And by keeping the 'house ghost' content he was doing something wonderful. He was protecting his family, no gun included.

"But why," Tsunayoushi asked "Why can't you go into heaven?"

Hibarin stood silent and paused playing with the toy car in his hands.

"My parents used up all the money to go to Heaven. They were selfish herbivores."

Tsunayoushi put his car down as well.

"My parents are in Heaven too." Hibarin looked at the child in front of him. They both sat on the floor, the toys in-between. "But they left me with my Uncles and Aunties. That's what the grown ups told me. You know, Uncle Fong is really my father? He explained that he adopted me with papers. That the government said I am his son."

Hibarin's eyes were looking at the herbivore with interest now. But he did not know why he even began a conversation with the herbivore. Perhaps because he has been lonely for so long, but he puts this thought in the back of his mind. He was Hibarin, he was a self proclaimed Vampire. When he was alive he researched on them thoroughly and watched Dracula eighty six times. Vampires were not lonely and ghosts shouldn't either. They were dead, they shouldn't feel.

"Then why do you call him 'Uncle'?"

The boy with the brown hair replies with a small whisper. "Because he isn't my father.

* * *

 


	2. Paper Stars

Hibarin liked to collect things. If one were to describe these tendencies he would be like some sort of dragon. Collecting treasures. Anything that had caught a glimmer to his eye he would collect, either that or he was just greedy. He now had someone to boast of all his findings and decided to show Tsunayoushi his collection in the attic. Hibarin told Tsunayoushi of his treasures on the second week of their arrival, and without a doubt the younger had wanted to go.

"Hibarin you're amazing," The young child said as he reached the attic. It was easy to get there, all he had to do was go inside his closet (It used to be Hibarin's) and look up. There would be a small string attached to the ceiling, and when he pulled it, a small set of stairs came down. "I have never met anyone with a treasure collection before."

The ghost child stuck his chest out in pride. "Of course no one has one, I am a vampire ghost. Only vampire's collect treasures. The best treasures. "Which was not true but he said it  _like_  it was true. That meant the same thing to children. Tsunayoushi just nodded and agreed because he knew no better.

In the middle of the attic was a grand porcelain moon with a kind face. It had pearls decorating it's side, it shone when the light from the attic window hit it just right. Red curtains decorated the whole attic, alongside small boxes of trinkets. Such as small clear bottles that were filled with paper stars, block legos and sticky hands. Those were just the beginning of his findings, there was a case with millions of dead butterflies, another box which had an old record player, he found photographs that Hibarin kept because he wanted to record how special certain people were. But those he kept hidden (because your weaknesses should always be hidden, not on your shoulders or on the floor.) Those photographs he ripped away from the other boy.

"That's mine. You can't touch it." He would say.

There was even a small futon on the floor, filled with the best kind of feathers and white silk as the sheets.

"My mother made me this play room." Hibarin explained as Tsunayoushi found a suitcase filled with small Nutcracker soldiers. "She knew I was a vampire, and told me that all vampires had a lair to do their dark deeds. I of course requested to have one. She did not deny me this because I threatened to suck her to death." He said this in a proud manner, content he had such power.

"This Nutcracker doll," Tsunayoushi inquired. "It looks an awful lot like you."

Hibarin looked down at the attic window.

"My mother made that for me."

"You come out of here." The brown haired boy pointed to the mouth of the doll the ghost boy carried. "Why does that happen?"

Hibarin grunted for a while, displeased he did not know an answer to that question. He thought about it and grunted for a while until he finally found something believable to say. "This is my tombstone."

Tsunayoushi felt like he had just asked a rude question, and acted like his Uncle Fong taught him when he felt he had said too much. "Ah," He bows his head down. "Sorry, it was rude of me to ask."

He accidentally dropped a toy soldier down, and when he reached down to pick it up a world globe caught his eye. He was first interested in it, naming towns and cities, but then grew quiet and did not really like seeing the world anymore. Not when he knew it was different, it wasn't painted on a circle. It had people in it, and people did the scariest things.

"There is a war outside." Tsunayoushi says, his back only showing to the ghost boy who had begun to turn the pages of a book. The book was called ' _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'._

"The war was barely starting when I died." The dark haired boy said this disinterestedly, choosing another book ,preferably something about magic. "We went to war with the Capulet's ."

Those were the only two nations on earth. Montague and Capulet.

"I think," Tsunayoushi decided to be brave. He could never talk about 'Adult-talk' with his Aunts and Uncles. "That the world would be better if the land could separate into small little pieces. Like Japan could be its own separate place, and so can Italy and all that."

"The adults are stubborn." Hibarin laughed through his nose, it was a mean laugh. "Even if the world were to be separated they would still fight."

"I'm glad that you died Hibarin. It is great that you don't have to live in this war." Tsunayoushi spun the world globe slowly. The two big chunks of land turning into swirls of colour. "Wait-! I mean, no- I'm not saying that I wanted you to die- and -ah uhm,"

"Quiet. I know what you meant."

* * *

Fong's name was made up of 'air', 'wind' and 'manners'. All in all, the young child thought that his Uncle's name suited him well. Fong felt like the wind, it had the power to cool you down, he felt like air, as soon as he was there Tsunayoushi felt like he could breathe again, and 'manners' because of his calm personality. Tsunayoushi learned Fong's name when he was only seven. He learned many kanji up to that point all thanks to his Uncle Fong, or as he still used to call him ' Father' or 'Bàba '.

Fong is legally Tsunayoushi's father.

There was a time where the child thought this man that looked nothing like him was truly his father. It was probably the happiest time for both of them. It was probably the happiest time for both of them because they were living a lie.

Fong had nursed and nurtured Tsunayoushi with the Arcobaleno since the day his parents were killed. That was when he was only two weeks old. They took turns watching him, feeding him, all through the busy schedule of the military. But being a Spy working on espionage had its perks, and that was because you were better off. More so than most, more valuable than soldiers. A spy was a piece of intelligence that was kept alive while the soldiers were just pigs for slaughter. Everyone knew that.

Fong presented Tsunayoushi as his son, and sometimes Luce as his wife. It worked and nobody asked questions. He introduced Reborn as the child's godfather, and Colonnello as an Uncle. He introduced all the Arcobaleno's with a tint of familiarity only a family would have. It worked, for a while.

But as the son grew older, day after day he found his appearance more troubling by the second. Tsunayoushi noticed how different he and his Bàba looked. (And where was his mother?)Both of them had different shaped eyes, his was an almond while the elder man's eyes were slanted like cats. He had rich black hair while he had brown that looked like chocolate. And when Tsunayoushi asked his 'father ' this, Fong could have lied. He could have kept the lie going for all of them.

But after much guidance from Luce and Reborn, he decided it would be much better to speak now than later. It would save him face, man cannot live without a face, trees can't live without bark.

"That's a bad idea." Verde was always the negative voice of the Arcobaleno group. The man who always had something to say. If there was one thing to worry he could give you a million. "Telling him this so early in his developmental stage would be too traumatizing for the child. His Frontal Lobe has not fully developed yet. He's only five now, its way too early for him to process this information."

And as usual, Colonnello would be the ice breaker. He always said something that would get everyone to laugh, to become angry or sad. "The fuck did he say?" He was also an idiot with a middle school education. Verde just looked at the blond man blankly, musing to himself that there were still Neanderthals wandering around, then walked away.

When Fong had begun to explain to Tsunayoushi on how he had adopted him and what that meant, the Chinese man was pleased with how the boy responded to the situation and began to praise him ( internally ,of course). He did not want to spoil Tsunayoushi . What a smart boy he was, how understanding!

"It's ok! I'm not mad!" Tsunayoushi told Fong this with a big smile. He continued to play with his clay that Luce had bought for him. It was blue.

The one that did not understand the consequences was Fong.

"Xiǎo-Shi ." The Chinese man called from the kitchen. This was when the Arcobaleno had an apartment in Italy. They remembered they lived there for four months, that was when the bombing started. The bombings would happen any time of day, when the Capulet's attacked the civilians. Fong had become frightened of sending Tsunayoushi to school, so Verde became his teacher.

"Yes ,Uncle Fong?" Tsunayoushi asked obediently.

And Fong looked at the small child with a shocked but fierce look, as if the boy had begun to curse at him and began to talk in tongue, as if he were just slapped.

"What did you say?" He had a wild look in his eyes as he grasped the child's shoulders fiercely and shook them. "Repeat it!"

Tsunayoushi did not say a thing. He had learned to be quiet when he had to. He had learned to be quiet when he heard Uncle Colonnello scream and thrash at night, sometimes crying. He had learned to be quiet when he saw his Uncle Skull and Uncle Verde inject themselves with something and they became happy for a while. He had even learned to be quiet and act like nothing was happening when Reborn would get this ache, this ache that made him destroy everything in sight. That was the first time he had broken his arm.

So ,yes, he would learn to be quiet if his Uncle Fong, the man who he thought was his father for so long , would want to act like someone else on occasions.

They stared at each other for a while, and slowly, Fong stands up and lets Tsunayoushi go. He has the same smile he always wore, gentle and kind. The only thing that was different from him was that there were tears falling from his dark eyes.

"Food is ready ." Is all he says as he serves the child his own Tofu, rice and squid.

With every bite he took Tsunayoushi knew that he had hurt Uncle Fong's feelings. He did not have much of an appetite after that and excused himself early. Because with every bite of Fong's cooking he could feel why deciding to call him 'Uncle' was a bad idea. His food tasted like his love.

He could never take this back.

* * *

Reborn was the first to come back to the house. The Italian man did not bother to knock, and as soon as he opened the door, laid his suitcase on the ground. The tall man walked up the stairs, his hand on the staircase. He heard voices from the room near the bathroom. Tsunayoushi's room, he gathered.

"Hibarin, let's colour. You can have this page-"

"Ciao." Is all Reborn needs to say before someone begins to climb on top of him. Tsunayoushi has a big smile but then stops, and sees if Uncle Fong is there as not to hurt his feelings.

"I missed you Reborn!"

The Italian male just places his fedora on the child's head, inspecting Tsunayoushi's room.

"You were talking to someone just now."

And the child cannot lie to this man, he cannot because he secretly wished him to be his father, not Fong.

"I was talking to Hibarin. He's my new friend. He's right here." Hibarin is sitting on the bed colouring the page that Tsunayoushi tore out for him. As soon as he looks at the adult male, he places his fake fangs on himself and begins to hiss.

Of course, Reborn cannot see the tiny ghost and only stares at thin air.

"I see." Is all that comes out of his mouth.

That night at dinner Reborn is quite stubborn on sending Tsunayoushi to a public school, much to the reluctance of Fong.

* * *

The second to come to the mansion is Luce.

He loves his Aunt Luce, so, so , much. If his mother were still alive, she would surely be like this, Tsunayoushi thought. She was so kind, caring, and she only scolded him when she needed to. His other Aunts and Uncles tried to be extra careful around her not to anger her, and the child did not know why. When he was only six years old he remembers she was pregnant. But a second passed and she did not have her round belly anymore.

"It got lost in the bombing." She told him with a smile.

He remembers which bombing it was.

Uncle Fong and Aunt Luce were outside in the market place in Italy. There were many stands of fish and meat, fruits so delicious you could smell the skin. Tsunayoushi was only seven back then, and he held Fong and Luce's hand tight, just like they taught him.

"They're my mommy and daddy ." They taught Tsunayoushi to say.

And the passerby would laugh and congratulate the Chinese man in scoring such a good wife, that she was pregnant again! But Fong of course did not tell them the truth, that he was not capable of making children, nor did he mention Luce was pregnant with another man's child. They weren't even lovers, just friends.

"They're my pride and joy." Fong would say, and that wasn't a lie.

So about that time, they were trying to score a good deal in the seafood stand, trying to score salmon at a thirty percent discount at least. And that was when the bombing began. Everyone started run around like chickens, all scampering to get under some piece of wood, some began to fall on their knees and pray. But Fong And Luce just looked at each other and ran. Fong picked up Tsunayoushi and covered him with his arms as strong as he could, making him not see anything of the outside world. But Tsunayoushi could still see, he saw how in the crowd they pushed Aunt Luce away, and he saw the way they pushed and shoved her, and he saw the way she lost her child. The blood pouring from the bottom of her dress.

As they walked home she was crying, no, she was wailing at the top of her lungs. Never stopping, and Fong did not scold her, he did not tell her to calm down. He had a somber expression in his face and could only soothe her back.

"Why are you crying Aunt Luce?" The child in Fong's arms asked her, and she couldn't come up with a believable lie, so she said the first thing that came up to her mind.

"I lost the fish at the market. The fish was spoiled. I can't get it back."

Luce's belly disappeared, and now when people asked Tsunayoushi about his mother's 'baby' he answered, " She lost it at the market place."

And the people would only nod in understanding, "It happens." They told him.

I brought you back clothing," Aunt Luce blabbed as she took out parcel after parcel out of her car. She placed them in Tsunayoushi's arms to take them inside. "Of course, I also brought you some toys; I saw the most darling little trains the other day. Of course I had to get you one, and I bought you some new pillow cases. They are the most precious thing! They have little lions in them, see? Children should have these things! I know this. "She pointed to the pillow cases and Tsunayoushi could only look at them in awe.

"And this, Aunt Luce?" The child had picked up a small letter from the trunk. It was strange though, it had the seal of the Capulet's. As soon as the child saw it, Luce cursed her absent mind and swiped the letter from his hands.

"Oh, this little thing? Just a letter. Adult things." She added the 'adult things' to make sure Tsunayoushi won't concern his mind with it. And he did not ask her about the letter ever again.

* * *

Verde was the third to come back, and he came back with a large moving van. He still has the sour look he address everyone with, but his eyes are much kinder when he talks to the small boy who comes to greet him.

"Are you ready for your lessons?" The man asks in a deep voice, the voice Tsunayoushi came to identify as a brilliant scholar.

"Yes, Teacher."

Verde was the one to explain to the others that Tsunayoushi had a small learning disability. He was dyslexic. But thanks to his home-schooling he had a great jump start. Now the only thing detaining him from reaching his full potential was his anxiety around new people. And that was made worse from the war.

Tsunayoushi knew to fear Uncle Verde, because when you're a child a doctor is someone evil no matter who says he's not. Uncle Verde was the family doctor and took care of everyone when they were sick, he treated Skull's wounds whenever he came home (except he used alcohol that hurt more), he was the one who treated Luce after she lost her baby . But the child also feared him because he knew Verde was doing 'bad things' in his lab. He would sometimes see his Uncle inject himself with this syringe, '  _Giving himself shots!_ ' the child thought. He went to go tell Uncle Colonnello what he saw (because everyone else was on missions) and the American's eyes went big.

" Tsunayoushi, knock before you enter his lab will ya? And promise me, when you grow up don't do drugs. They're bad." The child did not know what 'drugs' were, much less what made them so bad.

And yet, he promised. Just like they taught him.

* * *

Skull comes back with Colonnello two days before Tsunayoushi's birthday.

" I'M HOOOOOME!" Skull screamed at the top of his lungs. A shoe hit him in the back of the head.

" Shut up." Reborn says from the couch. He was looking at the television news broadcast; he was looking at their lies.

"Yeah," Colonnello added. "Shut it lackey." He was about to give him another hard whack but stopped when he saw his 'Lil -Tuna.'

"Yo!" He called out. But the brown haired boy's attention was on Skull.

"Brother Skull!" Hibarin was sliding at the stares beside Tsunayoushi's side. Curious as to why so many people were coming to his home. He had never had so many guests before.

"Little brother!" Skull laid out his arms in front of him for a hug. "Don't hug me too hard! Everything hurts!' The pierced man complained.

"You didn't complain when you pierced your face." Fong said gently. "Aiya, I wish you would take them off. They're a bad influence to Xiǎo-Shi." He shuddered to think his little boy would get them all over his face when he was not looking.

"Yeah," Added Reborn. Always something to say. "You think you look so cute."

Skull groaned and carried Tsunayoushi with him up the stairs. "Leave me alone!" He complained like a child.

The others smirked or smiled. Luce laughed.

At dinner time everyone dined together. Lal and Viper were missing, they were on a mission, it could not be helped. This time the food was all Italian, Luce cooked it with the help of Fong, he used to work as a cook he had told them . Besides that, he was the only other member of the group that could boil water without burning it.

The whole group ate to feed a starving army, and they did so because they never knew if they would eat like this again.

"Eat more! " Reborn scolded Tsunayoushi. The young boy would always sit next to Reborn, much to the disappointment of Fong. The seat next to him always empty.

"I'm full." Tsunayoushi murmured, but then remembers Hibarin. He serves himself another plate , making sure to fill it with everything he thinks the ghost boy would like. "I'm more hungry!"

"I'm even hungrier." Luce corrected with a smile.

He sits down and pretends to eat his food, waiting for everyone to clear the table so he could give the food to Hibarin.

He listened to his Aunties and Uncles talk about the war, it would scare him but he wanted to stay informed.

"Ahh, so I was right next to their fighter plane right?" Skull began to tell his stories to Tsunayoushi. Adding sound effects and the child would really feel himself to be there in the thrill of battle. His Uncle Skull was the head of the whole Fighter Plane squad. He was the one in charge of fighting in the sky. "And I just blew that sucker right up! Everyone cheered for me, and guess what? We're winning the war! It's going to end soon Tsunayoushi, and when it does, I'll take you flying in my plane and we won't be scared of being shot -"

"Tsunayoushi dear," Luce said in a sweet manner. "Would you eat the rest of your dinner in your room? Pretend you're in a restaurant!"

Tsunayoushi obediently took his plate and ran up the stairs, all the while continuing to hear his Uncle Skull's story about how he single-handedly shot down a huge fighter plane all by himself.

As soon as they made sure Tsunayoushi is upstairs Skull stops his story and begins to sob. He continues this way for a while, Fong and Luce the only one's standing up to give him a handkerchief.

"Lies! Lies! All lies!" His eyes turned red and puffy. "We're losing this war! We're all going to die! My squad is all dead! Only two left, how the hell do they expect me to fight all of their planes with only three soldiers! THREE." He wiped his nose and Fong served him some water, Luce served him more food. "I hate this, I'm scared. I don't want to do this anymore."

It was quiet at the table, and as always, they wait for Reborn to speak first. He just rolls some Fettuccine into his fork, and takes a bite.

"Would you rather be in the Capulet's side? At least in this Nation they don't let their people starve. Not yet anyways."

Colonnello begins to pour himself a cup of whiskey, handing some to Reborn. "Suck it up." Is the advice they gave Skull. It was the only thing they could tell him.

Verde adds more Parmesan cheese to his food. "All of us feel the same way, there is nothing we could do about it."

"What if I died?"

"It is what it is." Reborn was already smoking at the dinner table, a habit that both Luce and Fong scolded him for.

Skull stopped crying, no tears left. His soul broken. "I could have been a famous dare devil. I could have been someone famous. I'm famous already, but not this way. I never wanted to be known as the man with the best aim in the sky. I never wanted to be known as the man who could kill you with one shot. 'Shoot 'em up Skull.' What kind of stupid name is that?"

"All of us wanted to be many things." Fong remembered his dreams of becoming a Chinese Opera star, he was so young and foolish. "But , this is reality."

"We're all living lies! Lies! "Skull began to shout." If Tsunayoushi knew we were the ones who killed his parents-"

Luce covers her ears, Reborn and Colonnello attempt to pull Fong off the other man who was already choking Skull.

"Don't ever say that! Don't ever say those words in this house ever again! You devil! Do you have the devil inside you!"

Skull is too brave today and continues to talk.  _He must have some kind of death wish_ , thought Verde, he was seated at the far end of the table preparing a needle that would leave the Chinese man immobile. When he was angry Fong was a threat to everyone, a man that could kill with his bare hands.

"He'll all hate us if he finds out! Do you think I need another heartache in my life? We should just give the kid up. Give him back to the Capulets. That's where he belongs. With his only brother. He'll be better off." Skull continues to cry like a child. His mucus all over his nose. "So go on and kill me if you want. My life was over the minute the war began. Coming back to a home is the only thing that makes me happy anymore. "

Fong's hands relaxed and let him go. His own face angry and hot. "I don't kill children." Is all that he says. He sits down as Luce pours him a cup of tea. He accepts.

Luce decides that it is time to give the Arcobaleno the letter she received from the Capulets. "Giotto sent me another letter." She puts it in the middle of the table. Everyone grew tense. "He says that he wants his brother back at all costs. That we're all...cradle robbers." She began to cry just a bit, her heartache of having a dead child inside her still grand.

Reborn spoke. "We are not giving Tsunayoushi back. He's ours now. He didn't want him when he was born. He shouldn't want him now. That boy is just greedy." He cleared his throat. "As for how we should handle ourselves from now on, Colonnello , you can't step a foot outside. You're American, the people will grow wary of you and give unwanted attention toward us."

Colonnello nodded. "Shit, I'll be bored as hell."

"There's woods," added Verde. "Surely someone of your brain capacity could find something to do there. Not to mention we're always on missions.

"Fong is fine. He's Chinese, part of the Montague nation, as well as Italy." Reborn pointed to himself, Luce, Verde and Skull. "We're all fine. Tsunayoushi is Japanese, he's safe. Either you stay inside Colonnello or learn Italian. Pretend to be Italian."

"The only thing I know how to say is 'Venti' at starbucks." Skull, who was recovering from his breakdown couldn't help but laugh. Colonnello smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"Aiya," Fong said, slapping Skull's arm playfully. "He'll be dead the moment he sets foot outside for his stupidity."

"Yeah." Added Skull. "He'll be wearing the Capulet's flag as his boxers."

Just another night for the Arcobalenos.

* * *

"They're fighting." Hibarin states, and points to the floor of the basement.

"They do that sometimes ." Is all Tsunayoushi says.

Hibarin pokes the Italian food and tastes it, it was good. "This food is decent." He sticks his nose up in the air. "And I've seen your Uncle Fong before. But when he was younger. When I was still alive."

Tsunayoushi grew curious. Uncle Fong was young before? He never knew! "Really why?"

"I think he was a distant cousin or something." Hiabrin continued to eat. Talking only when he stopped chewing. "He visited my brother often."

The ghost boy did not talk much after that. That always happened. When Hibarin always talked about the past he wanted to play Hide and Go Seek. And the funny thing was that he always wanted to be 'found'.

* * *

On Tsunayoushi's birthday Hibarin leaves a small jar with paper.

"It would be rude of me not to give you a gift." The small ghost responded. "And as the eldest I have to teach you manners. Here, I will teach you to make paper stars."

The trick was that you had to take a small string of paper and tie it, making it look like a small star. If your jar is full you could make a wish.

"See," Says Hibarin as they already finished thirteen of the paper stars. "For everything you want you have to work hard."

Who knows? Tsunayoushi thought. Maybe he can make enough stars to end the war.

The only ones around his birthday cake were Reborn, Colonello, Verde, Luce and Fong. Skull had left for his battle over the ocean and Lal and Viper were still on a mission. But Tsunayoushi did not mind. Last year no one was there on his birthday. He had to stay hidden in a cupboard because the Capulet's soldiers infiltrated the city.

Hibarin was also there, looking at his cake enviously. "Hurry up!" The self proclaimed vampire shouted. "I want some of that!" He pointed at the almond cake. Tsunayoushi learned that Hibarin did not need food to function, he just liked the taste.

The Arcobaleno gave him all gifts and played party games with him. They all played musical chairs but everyone accused Reborn of cheating. He took up two chairs and pushed everyone off the seats even when the music stopped.

"I won't be defeated." He said.

Uncle Fong gave Tsunayoushi a small bag made of Chinese silk, it was filled with decorations of tigers and flowers. "This is a good bag. It used to be mine when I was a small. Take good care of it." Fong always gave gifts like that, close to the heart. He did not tell the boy there was a small knife in it, just in case of emergencies.

Speaking of emergencies, the gun that was in the vase? It was now near the stairs. And they gave Tsunayoushi the same talk. He knew what to do.

Reborn gave the younger boy a white suit, no child of his would wear those children's clothing for much longer. And that was sad. It came with a vest, a jacket and a pair of shoes. The pants had creases in them, it made Tsunayoushi look like such a short important person. Luce could not help but take millions of pictures. Inside one of his pockets was a small taser, a stun gun. Reborn told him to keep that weapon a secret between the two of them.

Luce was the only one who gave Tsunayoushi something not concealing a weapon. She gave him artistic supplies, watercolour paper with paint sets and colours.

Uncle Colonnello gave him a picture book about kittens, which everyone raised eyebrows at. Hey, it's a kids book , ok? I did my homework in finding him a cool gift. Ok, well, maybe Lal picked it. Who cares?"

At night Tsunayoushi found a small letter in the book all written in messy Hiragana.

_'Don't tell your other Aunts and Uncles but I got you a cat. It plays around at the garden shed, there is food and water for him in the shed, too. Don't forget to feed him. Also, there's a small gun near the cat food. You better hide that. You know what to use it for. '_

Tsunayoushi felt like the most happiest child on earth, he yawned as a far away bomb resounded around the house. He goes to sleep, and if he were awake, he would have heard the worried whispers of his Aunts and Uncles. For Skull does not come back home. Not this time.

* * *

Colonnello returns the next day with a solemn face, they hardly saw this face on the American but it was there.

It was the afternoon and none of the Arcobaleno's were on duty. A rare site. Tsunayoushi was upstairs playing by himself, unbeknownst to the others with Hibarin. He hands them all a tape.

"What's this?" Luce says as she wipes the tears from her eyes, probably for Skull. She examines the tape and turns it around and around. It made her cry some more. "What good would this do?"

Lal emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water and stood in front of the elder woman. "It's closure."

Fong sighs and settles down his newspaper." I think we should hear it. Skull would have wanted us to know his last words."

Viper came into the room with a small record player and hands out her hand. 'Give it to me.' she said wordlessly. Reluctantly Luce closes her eyes, as if to search within herself if she really wanted to hear it, and slowly hands the woman with the cloak the tape.

Reborn was smoking a cigarette with his legs crossed, his fedora in front of him on the table. Verde was near the stairs, the door to his lab in the basement wide open. His frame leaning on the door.

When the tape was on they could only hear static, they could hear Skull preparing for lift-off on his jet fighter plane. They would never hear his voice again; this was now concrete in their mind. As soon as the plane is flying in the air you could hear Skull making small gun noises with his mouth, ' _bween! bween! bween_!'. Such sound effects sounded straight out of a video game. Lal couldn't help but smirk as well as Reborn. Colonnello laughed out loud with Fong and Luce. Viper and Verde both shook their head in disbelief and laughed through their nose.

It continued this way for some time, Skull yelling at the top of his lungs, making small outbursts from video games or lines from action movies for every plane he shot down. The Arcobaleno's believed he could make it, they forgot that they were hearing a recording. Suddenly, his screams turned to one of fright, then they turned into a mixture of pain and terror.

The Arcobaleno's heard a big explosion this was probably the part when the bomb hit the side of Skull's plane, this was probably the part when Skull had began to burn alive.

"Turn it off!" Luce cries out. "No more!"

But no one does.

They keep hearing the plane fail, Skull suddenly, at the top of his lungs, screams something that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

"I-I-I I'M HOOOOOOOOOOME!"

And that was it before the tape cut off.

* * *

 


	3. A witch who kidnaps and eats children

Skull had always escaped death so many times, but the day that he finally died, no one could really believe it to be true. All of them expected to see him bleeding by the doorway, having his hand in a victory sign, smiling like a fool. The Arcobaleno could not hold a burial for him, for the only thing that was left of him were his ashes. They stored it in a small violet vial and the next time that Reborn was in Italy, he scattered it on top of a building in Skull's hometown.

Tsunayoushi asked where Uncle Skull was one morning in breakfast.

"He's on a far-away mission." Luce murmured in a way that sounded like she wasn't sure. None of the others on the table tried to help her find the suitable words until Fong came in from the kitchen .He was holding a small tea tray. His gentle, serene smile present, and as soon as he laid the tray on the table, he placed a hand on Luce's shoulder.

"He won't come back for a while." Fong finished for her.

"Oh." Is all the child could say. And at that moment, he knew that he would never see Uncle Skull  _ever again_.

* * *

The bath in the house was quite spacious. It had an in-built tub. It was part of the floor and it sunk in all the way to Fong's knee. There was also a little shower head at the side and the tiles were a light blue. On a Sunday, Tsunayoushi and Fong were both taking a bath together, the elder man washing the child's back with a small cloth.

"Xiǎo-Shi," The Chinese man said. "Would you like to go to school? Or would you rather stay at home?"

The child thought about it for a bit, and thinks about Reborn. "I want to go to school." He says quietly.

"Tsunayoushi, look at me."

The child obeys but does not look at his Uncle's face. He only looks at the dragon tattoo on the man's chest, how the ink collided with the man's skin. Tsunayoushi oftentimes imagined the ink coming off his uncle's body, swirling like a small tornado around him. He never had a pet before, and that was the only way he could have had one. If it was imaginary. But not anymore. The child thinks about his kitten Nuts in the backyard and smiles. He played with the kitten in secret all afternoon. It was a sweet thing, it didn't scratch him and it ate off his hand.

"You only want to go to school because of Reborn, don't you?" The child looked at the water embarrassed. "Aiya, you do know that Reborn isn't  _always_  right, don't you? If this wasn't wartime…" Fong began. "I would say that you should go to school. But these times…these times you don't know what will happen. I don't want to lose you. What if something bad were to happen to you while at school?"

Tsunayoushi only repeats the same thing; he repeats what Reborn wants to hear. "I want to go to school." The little boy repeats politely.

The Chinese man sighed as he began to lather his hair with shampoo. Fong knows that Reborn has Tsunayoushi wrapped around his finger, so he decides to drop the conversation. Instead he looks out at the window of the bathroom, the moon shone in all its splendor.

"The moon is full tonight."

Tsunayoushi looked at the face of the moon and it reminded him of the porcelain imitation in Hibarin's treasure room. He began to point at it, but then Fong swatted his hand away gently.

"You shouldn't point at the moon or anything really. It's rude. If you point at the moon, your ears will fall off.

Tsunayoushi's eyes grew wide and he patted his ears. He was making sure they wouldn't fall off. He needed those to listen to Reborn's records, he needed those ears to listen to Hibarin blabber about his vampiric evil, and most of all he needed his ears to listen to the bombs from far away. So he can know when to run; when to hide.

"It's true," Fong seems to say with absolute certainty. "But since you're nine, the good luck balanced out the bad thing you just did. So it's now good luck."

Fong is a very suspicious man; he never opened umbrellas in the house, and he always left fresh fruit in everyone's rooms and forbid them to touch it. The fruit would absorb all the 'bad energy' away, he had told them. Right before he went to sleep he closed the closet and made sure it would not open at night, this, and everything more was his personality. He was the one that taught Tsunayoushi to believe in magic and superstition. The magical realism of our world. That was why Tsunayoushi accepted Hibarin's existence so casually, for Uncle Fong told him many stories of ghosts seeking help from the living. He taught Tsunayoushi to treat the dead with respect.

Fong also wore bright red clothing in special occasions and when he went into battle. In the military, they remarked that his clothes were red because of all the blood he shed, a momento to his victims. But actually, Fong wore them because it was his favorite colour, that, and because he believed that it was the luckiest of all the colours. Just as it was the colour of the blood he shed, red would help him be alive for a little bit longer.

He rinsed his hair with the small shower head, his hair looked like black licorice to the small boy. He had always admired his Uncle's hair, and when he used to call him father, Fong would give him permission to comb his hair. Tsunayoushi still remembers the comb and he remembers the long black hair at his fingertips.

"May I have long hair like you, Uncle Fong?"

The elder man turned off the device with a small 'click' and began to imagine the smaller child donning a small little ponytail with a little bow, how it would run up and down as he walked. Fong decided he had fallen in love with that image.

"Of course you may! Do you want to have it in my style? Braided?"

Tsunayoushi nodded and began to pat his brown hair.

"When will it start growing?"

They both finished their shower, put on their bathrobes and began to walk to Fong's room to change. The house was quiet since it was only the two of them. Well, three, if you count Hibarin. He was in Tsunayoushi's room reading the fairy tale books Luce had bought.

"It's growing right now, you just can't see it." The Chinese man spoke as he carried the smaller child in his arms. "You're growing right now, see? That is certain, but I can't actually see the growth until it is very visible…"

And when he said this he frowned, because he knew that Tsunayoushi will never ever have a childhood.

* * *

On a Tuesday, Colonnello, Reborn and Fong were the only ones present in the house. Tsunayoushi held on to his American uncle's hand. He shuddered as he heard the radio broadcast. All of them were in the living room, the radio placed in the middle of a small coffee table. Reborn was staring at thin air with a hand on the side of his face, one finger tapping his temples. Fong sat down calmly, his smile always present. The only one that showed any response was Colonnello, who seemed a bit worried and angry. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips in a flat line.

" _ **Citizens, don't panic, the Capulets are stationing themselves in different parts of our nation. This is not a surrender, we repeat, this is not a surrender. This is compromise. Do not act in hostile ways, they are not here to cause any harm."**_

The child's heart was filled with terror.

_The Capulets are here._

Colonnello sighed, and held on to Tsunayoushi's hand tighter.

"We're gonna lose, right?"

Reborn didn't say anything, but finally let his eyes focus on the man in front of him.

"Looks like it. But they still want us to spy on them. I'm certain that they had this all planned, that's why they stationed us here, to keep an eye on them. Especially since the group that are assigned to this area is none other than the Brigadier General and his whole squad."

At this Fong nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Giotto."

"Shit..." Colonnello grabbed on to a few strands of his hair. "We gotta be more careful, what if he sees…"

Fong continues to smile like nothing happened, but he raises a finger to his lips, telling Colonnello silently to speak no more. The blond man stops before he could continue blabbering , and let's go of Tsunayoushi's hand.

"Xiǎo-Shi," Fong called . "Sit here next me, let's have a little chat."

The docile child walks to the other side of the room and does as told.

"You must never leave our sight. Understand? When we go to the market, I want you to promise me you won't even move as much as an inch away from us…I say this because…there might be a person that wants to take you away."

Tsunayoushi's eyes widened, he looked to Colonnello and then to Reborn. He was seeking for reassurance.

Reborn raised an eyebrow. "Fong, you aren't thinking of explaining this to him, are you?" The Italian man began to light up a cigarette, only for it to be cut in half in a millisecond. Fong had his hand raised, and Colonnello began to chuckle a bit. Fong was known as a martial arts master for a reason, he was too quick. In that short second, he applied pressure in the wind to cut the other man's cigarette in half.

"Tsunayoushi, I can't explain everything to you right now," Fong looked deep into the child's eyes. "But I swear to you, that you'll understand someday."

And that day would come very soon, like rain, like thunder.

* * *

The toolshed was a bit more spacious than most, it was right behind the house connected by a small little trail of stones. The forest and the backyard divided in half by a white picket fence. Tsunayoushi played with a piece of string, dangling it in front of his kitten Nuts.

"Damn you Colonnello!" A woman's voice was heard all throughout the backyard. It sounded rough, but it could never be confused for a man's voice. He knew that voice to be of his Auntie Lal. Tsunayoushi was at the backside of the toolshed, but he could just imagine the woman's hands on her hips.

"Why did you give him that stupid cat!" Lal paced back and forth, her face hot and angry.

Colonnello had on civilian clothing, not his regular army suit. He hadn't even donned his bandanna, his blond hair falling a bit over his eyes.

"What's so wrong about giving that kid a cat?" His voice was filled with annoyance.

"Don't you get it Colonnello! Why the hell would you give us something else to look after!" Tsunayoushi began to rip the grass from behind him quietly. "The responsibility of taking care of that animal will fall on us. That child doesn't even know how to take care of himself, much less a pet!"

The blond man took a step forward

"Now that's not true, Lal. That kitten hasn't died yet, right? That kid is doing something right, and anyways, you don't gotta worry about the cat. Me and Tuna are taking care of it,  _not you_."

Lal did not waver; she kept her arms folded across her chest. She tapped her foot impatiently.

"I just," Colonnello looked at his combat boots. "I…feel real bad for him." Lal seemed interested, maybe even a little bit bothered as she slowly undid her arms. "He doesn't have any friends, and I…I mean look at all the shit he's going through. This war, he's seen things a nice kid like him should be sheltered of, he has a condition that makes people think he's slow, and the other day,  _shit—_ " The tall man ruffled the side of his hair in exasperation. "I caught him talking to himself Lal! He was having a full on conversation with, I don't know— an imaginary friend or something. It creeped me the hell out. I tell you, that boy ain't right.…I think—" It was rare to see the American so somber and act like the adult he is."— That he  _deserves_  this much. He deserves to have this small amount of happiness in his life when everything else is complete shit."

Lal knows that he Colonnello was being serious, but even so she says, "That cat has fleas, Tsunayoushi could get an infection."

An exasperated sigh.

"Jeez, why do you gotta be so moody sometimes, kora! Ya drive me nuts sometimes!"

"Yeah, well the feelings mutual!"

The sun had slowly begun to set, a small bird began to chirp pleasantly.

"Man," Colonnello started to laugh lightly. "We fight like a married couple already, I haven't even proposed yet! _Damn_." He joked as Lal tried to hide the reluctant smile on her face. But slowly, it turns somewhat bitter.

"Colonnello, I...you know we can't get married right now…" She doesn't look at the man in front of her but looks to the small shed's front door.

"Then when? When the war'll be over?" The blond man laughed through his nose. "When is that gonna happen? We should get married now." This caught the dark haired women's undivided attention, her eyes widened. "Who knows? This could be our last conversation."

The little boy who was eavesdropping on the adults conversation began to pat his kitten for comfort, because in the back of his mind, that was engraved. That any day could be his last.

Lal's brown eyes flickered darkly, she shook her head as if scolding the American.

"Don't talk like that."

"But it's the truth though." Colonnello placed his hands in his pockets. "You're going to grow old and moldy, you're too smart to be killed. But me…not so much. You were always the smart one, so…here." Out from his pocket emerged his hand holding a small box. When the women took it, she did not want to open it. She just stared at it, letting their fingers linger for a while. She knew it to be an engagement ring

"Where did you get this?" She asks without opening the box and with lack of thrill.

"Sidewalk," The man joked. " Of course the merchants! Shit, it took forever to find a ring, and I'm not even sure if it's gold or whatever. You know how things like this are hard to come by nowadays. I bet you that ring was pawned off by a family needing money, everyone's doing that now."

"I…" There were many things she could say, but ' I will' wasn't one of them. "I can't Colonnello."

The blond man does not frown, nor does he become angry. He smiles, and responds nonchalantly.

"Then why don't you just wear it?" He suggests. "Until the day comes? You can wear it like a necklace or something. I just wanna see you wearing it."

Lal sighs and tugs her necklace off, she decided she would attach the ring to her necklace. Once she opened the box, she huffs.

"What an ugly ring!"

"Yeah? What an ugly owner." The other teased.

Tsuna smiled behind the toolshed while Nuts purred in his lap.

* * *

The living and undead children were both playing in the attic. They filled their day up with fairy-tales, games and lots of deep conversations. Tsunayoushi was the more talkative of the two, and often had many topics he wanted to discuss. Strangely, they landed on the topic of education.

"I used to go to school." Hibarin began to help Tsunayoushi build a small fort of pillows at the corner of his treasure room. Both of them had decided to pretend they were guarding a castle from an evil witch.

"How was it?" The brown haired boy asked as he dragged the biggest pillow across the room. "Did you like it?"

"I was class representative." Hibarin boasted. His chest out and proud. "I was always first in line and the teacher always gave me the assignments to pass out."

Tsunayoushi nodded in awe, those did seem like very important assignments.

"Hopefully, I can get a job like that in class too."

Hibarin stopped setting up the pillows to look up.

"What? You  _don't_  go to school."

"Oh, uhm," Tsunayoushi began to fidget around. "I'm going to go to school soon. Uncle Reborn signed me up; I'm going to begin in a week!" He said the last part excitedly, his eyes shining in excitement.

But that was short lived, because a great gust of wind seemed to erupt throughout the whole room, the temperature went below zero, the light bulbs popped out. Tsunayoushi proceeded to fall on the floor and screamed in fright. He shivered as he looked at the ghost boy's eyes. They shone a bright red, the glow of his eyes the only light of the room.

"You  _can't_ go to school!"

All reason escaped the brown haired boy's mind and scrambled up to his feet, and bolted out of the treasure room. Tsunayoushi didn't know who that Hibarin was, he only knew of the one that was kind and gave him paper stars and was like a bigger brother to him. This Hibarin was a scary ghost, whose eyes looked thirsty and his teeth sharp and menacing.

Reborn was the only Arcobaleno off duty on that Wednesday. He sat in the living room reading the newspaper, listening to the radio's classical musical station. Well,  _was_. He stopped as he saw his charge running with such a pale face into the bathroom, he raised his eyes as he saw the boy knock into a vase. The impact caused the vase to drop onto the floor and breaking it into millions of pieces. What was even stranger was that the boy (who would usually begin to stutter out with his apologies) kept on heading into the bathroom, as if he were being  _hunted_. Reborn also noticed the way the brown haired boy seemed to struggle closing the door. It seemed as if someone was holding the door back, a hard grip on the other side of the doorknob.

If Reborn's eyes could see the struggle in front of him, he would have seen Hibarin smashing that vase, and he could have seen the ghost boy pulling the door back, frightening the brown haired boy on the other side. Hibarin is angry, that is for certain, and Tsunayoushi is frightened. He's frightened of the ghost boy's behavior. He manages to close the door and runs to the safety of the bathtub, he sets the shower curtain above him and curls up in a ball. His face in his arms and legs. He thinks he is safe, but he hears the shower curtain move, and he knows it's Hibarin. He does not look up.

As soon as Reborn hears the bathroom door close roughly, he gets up and walks quickly to the bathroom door.

"Open this door Tsunayoushi!" When Tsunayoushi heard Reborn calling him by his first name, he knew he was in trouble. "Why did you break the vase? That was your Uncle Verde's."

No answer.

"I will tear this door down if you don't open it this instant." The man's voice was cold and cruel, like the hit man that he is.

"Your uncle is the big bad wolf from the three little pigs." Said Hibarin angrily. A reference to the fairy tale book they read to each other earlier that day. "He wants to blow this house down! Making you go to school!"

Tsunayoushi walks out of the bathtub quickly, and attempts to open to door, but no matter what he does It just won't open. He knew Hibarin had done something to it.

"Hibarin, please open the door. I'm going to be in trouble." The brown haired boy's eyes were big and fearful.

The dark haired ghost only continued to stare. "No."

At this, the small boy began to cry. His sobbing frantic and urgent.

Reborn's eyes widened as he heard noises coming from the bathroom. It sounded like another person was in there.

"Tsunayoushi? Is someone in there?" A dark feeling arose from the pit of the Italian man's stomach.

No answer.

"Who are you talking to?"

The child only cried and shouted. "I didn't do it! Don't hit me Uncle Reborn! He did it!"

As soon as the child made clear that there was someone else in the vicinity, the elder man took two steps back.

"Step aside ,Tsunayoushi."

Reborn broke down the door with a fierce push with his shoulders. Just as soon as he came in, Hibarin disappeared, leaving a brown haired boy with a bite on his arm and tears in his eyes.

"I don't want to be your friend anymore." Hibarin told him as he dissolved into smoke, and then, he disappeared.

* * *

At that same night this conversation happened.

"Do you want to go to school XiaoShi?" Fong was looking at the child over his shoulder. The slender but firm man was barely outside the door while Tsunayoushi was huddled under the covers, as if he were afraid of something. He hoped that Tsunayoushi would say 'no', that he could keep him safe from the outside world a little longer.

"Yes." Tsunayoushi began. "But he doesn't let me."

The Chinese man frowned.

"Who is  _he_?" The man asked, now facing the child on the bed.

And then Tsunayoushi raises a trembling finger to nothingness. To thin air, and Fong notices the room temperature drop. It felt like a meat locker, death and ice. In the distance, a mirror breaks, its sound coming from the attic, distant and ominous.

Fong immediately interprets this as a bad omen.

" _He_." The child said finally.

It's quiet for a few seconds until Fong walks wordlessly toward Tsunayoushi and scoops him up in his arms.

"Why not sleep with me tonight?" Fong asked this as a suggestion, so as not to embarrass the other.

"Ok." The brown haired boy sighed, and the man could swear that when he turned to close the door, he had heard angry stomping.

* * *

In the following two days, Fong was called in by the government for a mission that involved assassination and espionage. Colonnello's services were also required, so the two were to travel to the capital. It was a big issue on who was going to be in charge of Tsunayoushi, Luce couldn't because she was on paperwork duty in one of the offices, Verde was in another location conducting experiments, and Viper had to do business of her own. So the only two that could take care of him were Reborn and Lal. Both of them did have work, but none of it collided with the other's time, so both of them had enough time to watch Tsunayoushi while the other was gone.

This was a good thing for the other Arcobalenos because this arrangement meant the child was going to be with the most trustworthy of people, but bad for Tsunayoushi because he knew they were the strictest of all his caretakers

* * *

The Italian man had enough of the gloomy disposition Tsunayoushi had taken in since a few days ago. He moped, as if someone had scolded him, and more often than not, he looked around the room as if he were waiting for something to appear. And another thing, he would not drop the little toy nutcracker out of his grasp for any reason. He took it to bathe (leaving it near the window), to use the bathroom (he placed it in front of the door), to eat and to held it tightly and often spoke to it.

In a way, it looked like he was asking the nutcracker for forgiveness.

"Tsunayoushi, time for bed."

The moment Tsunayoushi heard his Uncle's voice, filled with authority and steel, he did as he was told and obediently walked up the stairs. The nutcracker still in his hands.

That annoyed the Italian man to no end.  _So dependent on a mere trinket_. The boy was becoming too attached to it,  _only little girls like dolls_ , reasoned Reborn.

The moment when Tsunayoushi had begun to tuck in the toy next to him on his bed, Reborn made a move for the doll to take it away. When the adult as so as much touched it, the brown haired boy sprung up from the bed and held on to the nutcracker for dear life. His eyes confused and frightened.

"Give me the doll Tsunayoushi."

The boy shook his head slowly.

Reborn's eyes widened in confusion, for this is the first time the boy had ever declined his wishes. The shock was too much to bare, and the adult knew that if he'd allow this small act of defiance the boy would begin to lose respect for him even more( but in reality, what he really felt was fright, that a mere nutcracker doll could be enough to replace him in the boy's life). So Reborn retracts his hand back and slaps the other child across the face. Hard.

"Don't ever disobey me."

The adult takes the nutcracker roughly and swings it on top of the dresser, causing one of the little shoes to break in two. Both of the pieces fell onto different sides of the room, and Tsunayoushi stares in horror. ' _Hibarin needs the nutcracker doll to exist! It's his tombstone…Uncle Reborn did a very bad thing…',_ but even if the boy were to voice his thoughts, he knows reasoning with the Italian man is useless. Reborn shuts the door roughly, leaving the young child hurt and distraught.

When Reborn is gone Tsunayoushi begins to cry, there was a sting on his cheek, just as well as his heart. But it was because he wanted his friend back, Hibarin, and also because of the war, and because he felt lonely and miserable and asked himself everyday  _'Who am I?' 'Where did I come from? Who were my parents?' 'Why can't anyone tell me the truth? Everyone is just filled with secrets...'_

' _But then again, maybe I'm the same as the adults. Since Hibarin is my secret…'_

As the little boy's tears continued to fall, smoke began to appear out of the nutcracker's mouth. It was a periwinkle that seemed to glitter as it dissipated across the room.  _He looks like a prince_ , Tsunayoushi thought as Hibarin floated carefully in front of him. The ghost landed slowly on the bed, his cape floating like the night sky with stars.

"Does it hurt?" Is all the specter asked him.

Tsunayoushi didn't say anything, just continued to cry.

"I could go scare him if you want." Hibarin's small fake vampire teeth shown. "I won't even suck him to death, I'll just bite him to death. No mercy."

"I-I'm sorry Hibarin. I didn't want your tombstone to get broken…it's all my fault this happened."

The ghost child went inside the covers and made his way up to Tsunayoushi, and then, laid his head on their shared pillow.

"You could fix it with glue. My tombstone is still usable, I am here aren't I? These types of things can be fixed easily, because they're things." Hibarin turned his eyes to the human boy.

"I'm sorry Hibarin," Both of the children were under the covers lying next to each other. " If I hadn't made Uncle Reborn angry this wouldn't have happened."

"But he struck you." At this Hibarin raises his hand and raises a hand to the other boy's cheek. They just stared at each other for a while and didn't speak. A few bombs were heard in the distance, and the crickets continued to chirp.

The brown haired child speaks first. "Did you know Hibarin, that people can hurt you beyond repair? And they don't even have to hit you, that hurts less. People can break you with words."

Hibarin nods.

"They can also destroy you with the things that they do." The ghost boy faces the ceiling as the two boys hold hands under the blankets.

Tsunayoushi smiled. The other wasn't cross with him any longer, and this made him feel comfortable. It gave him peace of mind, and just as soon as he started to drift off, Hibarin unusually continued to speak.

"When I died my mother was sad all the time." The brown haired boy's eyes widened, for the past was a completely taboo subject between the two. "She cried every day and when I tried to talk to her she couldn't see me. What a dumb herbivore!" Hibarin was staring angrily at the ceiling as he spoke.

"I tried to connect with her in the small ways I could. When I was still alive I moved her trinkets around a lot, something she would become cross with me for, and I was the only one who did so. So I began to move her things in the exact location I used to move them to. All that happened was her crying became louder. I don't get her, what a dumb thing to do."

Reborn's classical radio could be heard in the background.

"My father on the other hand, didn't really seem sad or concerned, but I did notice he read the paper every morning a little longer. You see in breakfast time he used to read it straight to the point, and finished quickly. After my death he took his time, and still after thirty minutes he would still be on the very first page."

Tsunayoushi thought that as strange, because he often saw this happen to his Uncle Fong and Reborn.

"One day, my father told my mother that he wanted to leave the house. I couldn't quite hear them correctly, but they sounded angry. They were in an argument. Father told mother that he had already sold the house, and that in an hour he'll come back from town with suitcases. My mother protested as long as she could until my father told her ' Hibari is never coming back.'"

"Hibari? But your name is Hibarin."

"Hibarin is a nickname." The ghost shut his eyes. "I hated father when he said he sold the house. Our castle."

"Why?"

"Because he wanted to leave me."

Silence.

"After my father left my mother began to act strangely. She went to her knitting storage box and took out yarn from the sweater she was making me before I died. I was thinking to myself, perhaps she is just keeping herself busy, mother always became comforted when she knit...but then she began to knit it in the most peculiar way. She knotted it."

The brown haired boy didn't like the sound of that.

"She wasn't making it into any pattern, it was just a long rope. When she finished it she tied it to the chandelier in her room, and stood on a chair. My father walked into the room as soon as she began to dangle from it."

Tsunayoushi knew what that looked like. Once in Italy, he saw a bunch of people dangling from a tree, he remembers his Uncle Fong covering his eyes.

' _Why are you covering his eyes?"_ He remembers some stranger scolding them. _" He should see what happens to people who betray their country.'_

"My father screamed for a long time." Hibarin opened his eyes again. "I do not understand. Why would she do that? She's nothing but a stupid herbivore lacking of discipline. She was weak , and yet…" He blinked. "She was my mother."

"My father left the house shortly after that and I never saw him again. They left me here all alone. My mother's soul didn't even come to meet me..." Hibarin meets the other boy's eyes, the only time he has done this since the conversation started and asks, "Will you leave me like they did Tsunayoushi?"

He then understood why the ghost boy became so angry, he didn't want to lose the only person he had. Tsunayoushi wanted to cry again, because he remembered his Uncle Skull's smile, and he remembered the piggyback rides he would give him around the house.

"I'll always be with you Hibarin, I promise."

The ghost boy takes a hand out from the covers, his pinky finger up.

"Really? Make a pinky swear. Eat a thousand needles if you lie."

Tsunayoushi lifts his own pinky finger and the two children chanted-

"Finger cutting promise! If I tell a lie, I'll drink 1000 needles, and cut my finger."

* * *

Tsunayoushi held on to his Uncle Colonnello's hand in the market place. Out of the two ( Colonnello and Fong) the American had arrived first from their mission. He had on a hat ( and Reborn told him he looked absolutely awful) and a large jacket to cover his features, he was American and had to be careful they wouldn't confuse him for a Capulet.

Colonnello placed a couple of notepads in a small basket. "Why did I gotta open my big mouth and tell Reborn I was bored." He muttered under his breath.

The moment the American had begun to complain Reborn had given him the list Fong had sent of Tsunayoushi's 'back to school' supplies. But then he supposed it was better than staying cooped in inside the house all day, and besides, he had always wanted to explore the town here. He hadn't had a chance since they moved because of his job and his features.

"Uncle Colonnello," The young boy tugged on the other's arm. "Can you accompany me to see the pet shop in front? I'd like to see the turtles…"

The American smiled. "You're bored too? Heh, well why don't you go by yourself? It's right in front of here, nothing's going to happen."

The boy nodded.

" Ok."

When he stepped out from the small store he sees the used-to-be abandoned building, now only to be named the Capulet's station. There were a few in front of the building, standing at attention. Eying the civilians.

Tsunayoushi stared curiously at the Capulet soldiers. While everyone around him called them 'monsters' or 'pigs', the little boy thought about how they all looked the same. Meaning to say, they looked human and not deformed or any other hideous monstrosities. There was a young soldier—which he would come to find out was a Brigadier General – on top of the Capulet's roof. He stood tall with a black suit , looking at the city from his binoculars. For some reason, Tsunayoushi was attracted to him and his mannerisms (his blond hair ,which resembled his own haircut) and even his eyes, which felt somewhat familiar. They felt like an embrace, or when he had the opportunity to eat his favorite cakes.

The male on the roof must have felt a pair of eyes on him and looked beneath him, their eyes met. The moment that he sees the small boy, the young soldier's eyes widen.

"Come here!" He yells from above. Tsunayoushi panics, startled from the sound of the stranger's voice. He made a dash to the pet shop. "Tsunayoushi!" The young man calls after him, but he just runs because he remembers his Auntie's and Uncle's warnings.  _Never .Trust .Others. There is someone that might take you away._

Tsunayoushi just runs to the pet shop and hides at the back of the store where all the fish tanks are located at. He thinks that he has lost the other and relaxes, but there at one end of an aisle is the young General. He is taking slow steps to the young boy, as if he were a deer or some kind of precious animal he wished not to scare.

"My name is Giotto." The man said. "Here," Tsunayoushi sees Giotto take out a piece of candy from his pocket, trying to coerce the boy to come closer. "I won't hurt you, Tsunayoushi. I'd never hurt you. Don't you know who I am? Come here, I won't hurt you. I just want to talk to you…"

But the child doesn't even see it strange that the Capulet knows his name, he dashes outside the pet shop to find his Uncle in the stationary store. Tsunayoushi is frightened of the stranger, he is frightened of his soft smile and eager eyes.

As soon as he finds his Uncle, he spills out on what had happened. How some man had begun to follow him, but hot headed as Colonnello was, he couldn't want for the rest of the information the boy had wanted to tell him. Such as how the stranger was a Capulet soldier, or how he had known his name, or his features.

The American interrupts the child by laughing, but it was a very mean laugh. Taunting. "Where is he? He doesn't even know the can of whoopass he's gonna get." The very thought of some sick pervert trying to steal his 'Lil Tuna' away. It was kind of funny, he never knew someone with such a grand death wish.

Even so, the moment he sees the Brigadier General's black suit, Colonnello immediately grabs Tsunayoushi and runs as if he had seen the devil. All the threats in his mind has turned to mush and all he could think of was ' Go back to the house. Go back to the house.' The jacket Colonnello was wearing was taken away with the wind, exposing his features and blond hair. He remembered how Reborn told him to fake his ethnicity, and begins to say random phrases of the only Italian he remembers Lal teaching him.

" Buona Notte! Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !Buona Notte !" The blond man says it like a mantra, smiling big and goofy. All the while the child in his arms forgetting the danger and beginning to giggle at his Uncle's antics.

Much to their surprise the townspeople greeted them. Some even waved back at Colonnello with a worried look on their faces.

* * *

The pair arrives at the house safely, and the moment Colonnello steps through the door with Tsunayoushi in his arms, he immediately begins to babble on what had happened to Reborn. "The strange thing about it though, was that some of the people waved back, they weren't even scared!"

Reborn doesn't even look up. He just stares at the gun he was polishing on his black lacquer desk in his study. "The last time I went out to the market place I sat and talked to the Italians there. I told them that you were my mentally retarded distant cousin named Timithy. And because of the trauma you suffered from the war, you're only capable of saying 'Buona Notte' and 'Venti'."

Colonnello broke into fits of laughter in his seat. He held his stomach while he laughed. "They believed you! That I'm some kind of retard?

"I tell the best lies." Reborn boasted.

Tsunayoushi looked back and forth between his Uncles and then at Hibarin. They were holding hands on Reborn's couch, and the ghost boy seemed to say with his eyes ' Courage.'

Tsunayoushi opens his mouth.

"W-who was he? The man that tried to talk to me…he was a Capulet. H-he knew my name..."

His question never receives an answer and instead Reborn tells him-

" Are you excited for next week? It's your first day of school."

And the child gulps down all the words he had wanted to say, like so many times, and so many situations. He was already an adult in such a young age. In the future, the teenage Tsunayoushi would still have the same kind demeanor but as so many people have observed of the men and women who were young children during these years have a certain seriousness about them, that doesn't go away, even when they laugh.

* * *

 


	4. Povera strella -poor star-

I've come back because you called for me.

This chapter is written for  _you_  .Without  _you_  I couldn't have done it.  _You_ , Thank  _you_  for the continuous support.

* * *

The day before Tsunayoushi's first day of school was filled with an excited anxiety.

The child became jittery, he did not eat most of his meals nor did he seem to be talkative. If he did talk, his speech became lost into nothing more but a word salad. Talking a lot but talking about nothing. His Aunt Lal understood the child, it was reasonable for him to be like this; after all he hadn't seen or engaged in any play with children his age since the arrival at the mansion.

She hoped everything would go down smoothly and she hoped that his schooling wouldn't be affected by the war outside, yet she knew that to be in vain. His schooling would be filled with repercussions for him, for his family, whether Lal wanted it to or not. No matter how many bombs she set off and no matter how much blood remained on her hands, the world could not turn for Tsunayoushi alone.

This world would not turn for _anyone._

* * *

It had been three days since Reborn had left for an urgent mission, but his farewell had been a bit too ominous.

* * *

"I'll be meeting with the ones in charge." He said this as he adjusted his fedora, his polished shoes making a 'click clack' noise as he stepped foot outside. "What they'll tell me will set our future. If I don't return in a week I will be dead. Please handle the burning of all my files on my desk as well as any evidence of my existence. Leave nothing behind."

Lal nodded, her arms reaching to close the door—

"Uncle Reborn," Tsunayoushi called softly from the stairs. "Will you be going to work again?"

Lal's eyes looked at the ground, the child's voice sounded too sad. As if he knew seeing his Uncle again is nothing more than a grand 'perhaps' a 'maybe' but certainly not a 'definitely'. A heavy weight dispersed between the trio, thick and ominous.

The young child knew something was amiss, for all his Aunties and Uncles were called on duty. It was nothing short of suspicious.

"I don't know if I will be back." The Italian man says with a firm voice not looking at the child behind him, he merely looked at the morning sky, the dew in the grass glistened and the air crisp.

Lal reprimanded Reborn with a look,  _why would you say such a thing_ , her eyes told him.

At this, Tsunayoushi begins to cry. It begins off slow, like the musical notes on a symphony waiting to be written, but as the music starts to fall into place and becoming born, so do the child's sobs. His suspenders on his periwinkle overalls moving up and down, the hinges on his buttons making small creaks as he sniffles at the top of the staircase.

"Please come back home soon," Tsunayoushi says as he clutches the nutcracker tightly onto his small frame. His tears pitter pattering softly across the doll's face.

The little boy continues to cry as Reborn just nods once firmly, walking straight out the open door without turning back. There existed neither kind words nor touches of comfort in that moment, only silence. Reborn continued to walk with a strong desire to live as he stepped toward his black automobile.

" Live, Tsunayoushi." Is all that he says as he maneuvers his automobile onto the road ahead of him.

* * *

Since Reborn was called urgently on said mission, Lal was the one in charge of taking Tsunayoushi to his first day of school. On the days after Reborn's departure she preoccupied herself with taking care of the small boy and doing her part of light housework. As a high ranking officer for survival training, she was always busy training new troops. There were always new recruits, and oftentimes she hardly had any sleep, much less time to do any household chores. At her time of rest or free time, Lal made sure she did her part of the housework diligently. She called herself a part of the family, didn't she? The stern dark haired woman disliked leaving her responsibilities in someone else's hands.  _That kind of thinking could get you killed someday,_ she thought to herself.

She'd often see Tsunayoushi smiling at something from the corner of his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking, but she wrote that all off as playing pretend. Regardless if she complained about the boy's strange habits to the others, she knew they were all lucky to have such an obedient child that was quickly pleased and hardly asked questions.

_If he were any different,_  she thought as she drank a cup of coffee _, this would be much more difficult._

* * *

Almost close to bedtime, Tsunayoushi was busy getting ready for his first day of class.

He took three sharpened pencils and put them inside his pencil case, the one he sewed by hand with his Aunt Luce. It was a creamy white and in the middle had a poorly stitched star next to a much more intricate moon. It was one of his prized possessions, especially since he did most of the stitching himself. He admired it for a while, putting it up to the ceiling.

"What is that Herbivore?" The ghost boy swooped down from a curtain, picking a candy from his teeth. "I want to see."

Tsunayoushi smiled good-naturedly, showing his spooky but kind friend his handiwork. "It's a place where I store my pencils and other things. I made it with my Aunt Luce."

Hibarin nodded. "I have a pencil case too, but mine has a bird on it. My mother bought it for me because she couldn't find a bat case."

The brown haired boy placed a sharpener and an eraser alongside a notebook in his elementary school backpack. It was leather stitched, red as a ripe apple.

"Hibarin" The brown haired boy began twiddling with his thumbs. He shyly moved his feet side by side. "Would it be ok if you came to school with me?"

The apparition stood quiet for a bit, he looked down at the younger boy on the floor. "I do not think it can be possible. I  _haunt_  this place."

There was a silence that seemed to edge on forever, the small wind chimes at the corner of the window rung lightly.

"I see." The boy continued to smile, but it was a dejected one. He packed the remains of his belongings and made his way toward the bed, only to be stopped by the ghost in his tracks.

"Maybe there is a way." The dark haired boy's fangs shown as he spoke. "Maybe all this time—I have not been haunting this house." Hibarin's eyes showed deep thought. "I have been thinking about this theory lately, since you carry the nutcracker everywhere, I follow you wherever you go…"

When he said this, Tsunayoushi's eyes grew wide.

"S-so…maybe what you have haunted all this time…is the  _nutcracker?_ "

Hibarin nodded carefully, his eyes squinting in thought. "I have never thought about these things precisely, after all, I never tried to venture outside."

Both of the boys made their way to the bed, excited and hopeful over their new discovery.

"Let's try it tomorrow when I go to school. I'll hide the nutcracker in my backpack."

And Hibarin pretended to care less, as if he really weren't excited, but he could have sworn he felt something akin to a heart beat excitedly inside of him.

But it was strange, he thought to himself, for his heart had already been reduced to mere dust.

* * *

Lal woke up to read the daily newspaper, to fix herself some coffee, English muffins and some eggs. In that order. Reading the daily newspaper was as essential as breathing to every single person in the Montague nation. It had articles on the roads that were too dangerous to travel, told information on the certain villages invaded, food that was no longer being sold and classifieds on items that people sought.

The Italian woman washed her face before she were to awaken the small boy for his first day of school, but much to her surprise the young child was already ready, he was in the kitchen spreading some jam on a loaf of honey bread.

"Tsunayoushi," The woman with the scar on her face said. "Why are you up so early?" She saw there were two chairs pulled out, two plates out with crumbs on only one of them, like the blood left on a crime scene. Evidence.

"I'm nervous." The brown haired boy admits as he takes a bite off his bread. He looks up at his Aunt in anticipation of what she might say.

"It happens to the best of us." She says as she begins the preparation for more coffee. She begins to boil the water. " Tsunayoushi," Lal calls to the boy after a minute. "Why are there two plates on the table?"

"That is for Hibarin." Tsunayoushi explains as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I see ," Lal says but she doesn't see. Colonello is right, she muses _, this kid really needs interaction with children his age_. And it began to bother her, that because of the war, because of  _them,_  he couldn't behave as a normal child should.

The odd duo finished their breakfast of potatoes and eggs in good time, Lal had already begun the preparations for the young boy's lunch as Tsunayoushi combed his hair.

"I know my cooking isn't up to par with Luce's and Fong's cooking, but this is the best I can do." Tsunayoushi just smiled as he watched the elder woman stuff boiled eggs and sandwiches in a small lunch carrier. Nearing 7:40 am, Lal went to fetch her coat as she watched the child rummage through his belongings to make sure everything was in his backpack, the Italian woman unaware of the nutcracker within.

As Lal opened the front gate of their home, Tsunayoushi crossed his fingers for good luck and took a step out of the mansion onto the outside world. To the outside world that turned for no one.

* * *

Tsunayoushi's clear eyes took in the sight in front of him.

The school had big iron gates filled with many children scampering around the vicinity, some playing hopscotch, jump rope or tag. Many parents stood by their children like hawks, much to the reluctance and embarrassment of the young boys and girls. Some children cried pitifully not wanting to be separated for not even a second from their guardian; they were scared of the world's cruelty and of the unexpected. The scene before Tsunayoushi was only a mere glimpse to the world that could have been, a world in which someone's greatest concern aren't the guns or the soldiers stationed in the city, it was knowing the alphabet, getting a test back with at least a 'c', those small things.

With his thoughts preoccupying him, Tsunayoushi begins to feel small and shy. He hides behind Lal, his arms gripping one of her legs.

" _Tsunayoushi,_ " Lal began, her arms were crossed across her chest. "Go to your teacher, she's right there." She pointed with a nod of her head toward a petite woman with short hair. She had on a warm smile and waved at them when their eyes connected from the distance.

Tsunayoushi looked at Lal and remained silent for some time, looking at his shoes. He wanted to tell Lal many things, but Lal understood him silently, sighed, and patted the boy's hair. An affectionate gesture that made the boy smile brightly.

"See you in a while." She said and with that, the boy goes to join his other classmates for his first day of school.

* * *

"There are too many herbivores crowding around." Hibarin murmured at Tsunayoushi's side. All the children were placed in two separate lines following the amiable teacher. Everyone looked a bit nervous; they remained obedient and refrained from speaking for the time being. All of the children spoke in whispers, unsure and wary of the teacher's personality and homework ethic.

Tsunayoushi was placed last in the boy's line, turning his head back occasionally to see if Hibarin followed after him.

"Tsuna-kun, are you alright?" Kyoko smiled gently as she held the door open for everyone, the students began to place their backpacks and shoes carefully inside their lockers that were in front of the entrance.

"Please make sure to zip up your backpacks and lock them properly! You'll be able to have them once more for lunch time!" The young teacher quickly placed her attention toward the rest of the class. "I hope all of you packed a lunch, if not we will provide small snacks at the teacher's lounge."

_Hibarin was right._

After closing his locker, the brown haired boy made his way to the nearest seat available, the one near a mini tank with fish swimming about. He remained unaware of the quiet girl who eyed him cautiously, she had on a dark sweater with the name tag 'Chrome'. She squeaked as Tsunayoushi obliviously placed his pencil box over their now shared desk.

Hibarin was  _right_ , he blinked as the teacher began to introduce herself.

"My name is Mrs. Sasagawa! It's a pleasure to meet all of you, I hope we all enjoy this new school year."

Hibarin didn't haunt the house, what he haunts, what he has always haunted, is and was the  _ **nutcracker doll.**_

* * *

**"Lunch break!"**

The children began to open their lockers, emptying the contents of their bags for their lunch. Some waited for the teacher's approval before they left the room and a few remained seated in their desks coloring.

"Tsuna-kun, what are you drawing?" Chrome asked quietly not looking up from her bright construction paper. The two children sat across from each other on their shared desk. Colored pencils were scattered across the desks, small paper stars in between erasers and construction paper scissors that left zig zag patterns when you cut with them.

After a few minutes of classroom lecture and activities the two began to form a curious yet bashful friendship. Kyoko's lips curled into a smile at the two children's conversation; initially she worried over her two student's demure personality, what if it caused them to be bullied? She was pleasantly surprised over this turn of events, they had made friends so quickly!

Tsunayoushi reaches for the red crayon to the side of him. "I'm drawing Hibarin, he's my friend that lives at home with me."

Chrome blinks. "Oh, I see. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, but I have lots of uncles and aunties…" he paused and smiled, it was small and shy. "Also, I have a pet kitty cat…"

"Really?" The girl's saccharine voice became a little higher. "I always wanted a pet kitty…but the way things are…my brother doesn't let me have one. He says they are too much trouble."

"Your brother?"

"Yes, I have an elder brother, he's wonderful." The young girl began to put her crayons back in her pouch with cat paws. "In lunch time he told me to meet him by the gate…so I will go see him now."

The young girl looked at her new friend hopefully and added," Maybe...if you like you can meet him tomorrow and join us…"

Tsunayoushi 's eyes began to sparkle in excitement, he made a friend so quickly! To think, he thought, his new friend liked him that much to want to introduce him to their family! The brown haired boy placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, I want to meet him please! Thank you, Chrome-chan!"

The young girl blushed and averted her gaze from the young boy's eyes." I-it's fine! I will see you when we get back from class Tsuna-kun, see you!"

As the young girl headed toward the door, Tsunayoushi begins to work on his locker combination. It was 6-12-30,right? Or was it a 1? As the girl closes the door, Tsunayoushi manages to get the locker to open after a few minutes with a heavy ' _ **tic'**_.

He is greeted with Hibarin sleeping lazily inside his locker, his body curled in a little ball. He mumbled incoherently, fidgeting from time to time.

"Hibarin it's time to eat now, don't you want some of Aunt lal's cooking?" The brown haired boy patted his lunch box, advertising it to the ghost only to be greeted by one lazy eye.

"No ,the woman is bad at cooking, it tastes like paper. I will stay here." His answers were curt and short, he was angry, Tsunayoushi could tell. Was Hibarin angry with him? That can't be likely, they hardly spoke to each other since lessons started.

"What… but..I wanted you to—"

"I feel sleepy so you can go for now." As if Hibarin could tell what the other boy was thinking he turned around and looked at him lazily, as if reassuring him. "It's nothing you did; learning made me tired is all. Leave me be."

Tsunayoushi sighed in relief. He smiled at the little ghost how he huffed in faked annoyance." Stupid herbivore, you can't even tell this much…"

"Oh I see, hmm, then I will go out and eat some lunch. See you in a bit Hibarin!"

Hibarin grunted in response as Tsunayoushi closed the locker . The self proclaimed vampire couldn't understand his sudden mood change either, as soon as he arrived at the school he had become very tired . The ghost's head felt like it was being torn into different directions, he felt like he was dying all over again, yet he knew it was a warning. It was telling him something was going to happen, it was going to happen very soon.

The charcoal haired boy's eyes withered slowly before he drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Once outside, Tsunayoushi eyed the school's gates to see that they remained open for lunch time visits. Some parents stood there with lunch and drinks, bringing a sweet snack from home while making sure their children were safe. The adults were a bit jittery, eyeing their surroundings and preparing themselves if they needed to run and hide with their children. The teachers Kyoko and Haru also stood among them, Haru kept an eye on the children while Kyoko talked with a soldier in hushed whispers.

Tsunayoushi's eyes traveled to a much smaller figure near Kyoko, it was Chrome talking to whom he supposed was her teenage brother. He had a similar shade of hair color as his sister, yet his mannerisms indicated he was much more extroverted than she was. The way he talked seemed pleasant, yet when he smiled it didn't reach his eyes. Tsunayoushi felt something strange stir inside him as the teenager's gaze locked onto his. He was caught staring ,'how embarrassing !'the boy cried to himself .Chrome turned to see what could have captured the interest of her elder brother so she turned, then smiled. She waved back at Tsunayoushi as she mumbled to her brother  _'That's my new friend I made today.'_

Something inside of him had hoped Lal was waiting for him too, but he realized she couldn't have, she was busy working at home. Tsunayoushi did not understand why he had hoped for such a thing, he reprimanded himself for being so childish.

He turned away and headed towards back to the classroom, Hibarin wouldn't mind if I woke him up would he? But just as soon as he chose to step back inside the classroom, something caught his eyes.

It was a sunlit garden.

It was placed behind the school lavatory, just behind the shade of the tree's greenery. You'd have to adjust your eyes a bit to see the form of little multicolored pebbles creating a path toward the garden's gates. It had wisterias, sunflowers, papillions , dandelions, flowers that Tsunayoushi had never even heard of before, only ones that he'd always imagined. There was a small vegetable patch too, carrot leaves peeking from beneath the earth's soil. Strawberry vines were lazily embracing the garden's entrance, inviting and pleasant.

Tsunayoushi had only heard of these things in books and newspaper articles, to think, something this magnificent remained hidden in their little school….inside of this children's heart, it told him to protect this place.

He walked toward a white bench near the fence and sat, as he stretched a bit he looked toward the light blue sky and how it expanded on towards the horizon with flags of different nations. Some of the flags were burning; some of them remained firm and standing, the victors. He chose to look away and instead thought to himself that it didn't really matter to him if the world was filled with rain or shine, because the only thing that would make his day 'good' was for Hibarin to stay by his side.

And when he remembered Hibarin was sleeping soundly and safe in his backpack, he smiled, because it was a good day.

" Tsunayoushi?"

The doe eyed boy froze at the voice that pierced the air with a calamity. The young boy caught his breath yet did not dare look behind him. He merely continued to stare in front of him, as if nothing were happening, as if he weren't in that moment trembling and squeezing his lunch box for dear life.

"Tsunayoushi?"

Once more, the child does not say a thing to the voice calling for him and instead chooses to close his eyes.  _ **'If you can't see them they can't see you, if you can't see them they can't see you—'**_

"Tsunayoushi…." The voice sounded a bit sad. "Please turn around for me…" A voice filled with pleading and promising acceptance, a voice of trust.

"I'd like to see you…"

The emotion behind the voice reminded Tsunayoushi of his Uncle Fong on that fated day, the day the bombings were starting in Italy. After the first bomb resounded in the distance, he quickly moved toward a small cupboard beneath the stairs, just like they had taught him. He grabbed a hold of a small chip on the wooden wall, pulled it, only to have revealed a tiny space to hide in. Once inside he quickly made sure to cover all traces of a disturbance on the wall, as not to arouse suspicion from anyone that might come searching. He gulped down his fear, shaking as he clutched the gun tightly between his small hands. He was told to stay put and shoot anyone he didn't know on sight.

He suddenly heard the door shaking violently. He clenched his eyes firmly and began to tremble.

He was going to die, Tsunayoushi thought to himself _, I'm going to die without ever have done a thing._

As the small door opened only to reveal his Uncle Fong , Tsunayoushi looked up at him with trusting eyes, his eyes wide and scared. Hot urine went through his pants, leaving behind a damp sensation in his shorts as well as tears of shame.

'Tsunayoushi?' his Uncle Fong had said to him that day, his expression was one of distress , his right hand pressing on toward his waist firmly as blood seeped through. He was gravely wounded.

" I'm sorry…" Tsunayoushi began to stutter out, he was a bad boy, he was a bad boy for wetting his pants. If Uncle Reborn knew, he'd hit him for sure!

Tsunayoushi received no punishment that day, instead he felt hands holding him tightly, the blood of his uncle on his hands and on his shirt as they both held one another, never letting go. They remained like that for quite some time before Lal finds them and escapes with them before the house is burnt down.

Out of respect for his Uncle Fong and for that memory, he turns around and doesn't utter a word. He will be brave he thinks, he will be brave for everyone. He just has to! He doesn't even scream when he sees the person in front of him…

It was Giotto.

It was the Capulet soldier that called himself Giotto, the one that tried to speak to him in the pet shop. The blond haired man looked at Tsunayoushi carefully not approaching him yet still facing him; he towered over the small fence blocking him from the child. The blonde haired man was tall and donned a beautifully tailored uniform, a small riding cape rested on his shoulders as he held a small box, the buttons on his jacket glimmered with the symbol of his nation.  _He looks like a prince_  ,Tsunayoushi thought to himself as his eyes looked at the man with fear and admiration.

"Tsunayoushi," The elder man began," Tsunayoushi…I swear to you that I mean you no harm. I'm very sorry if I scared you at the petshop the other day... Please forgive me for my rudeness. I have no intention of harming you."

Tsunayoushi had never had an adult tell him he was sorry, usually it was the other way around. He stared at the other man in confusion, unsure and uneasy on what to say.

"I-it's ok..I was just startled and…d-didn't want to get in trouble." Tsunayoushi knew he was being bad, his aunties and uncles always told him to never ever talk to strangers, yet here he was talking to a man across a fence.

Giotto sighed with a relieved smile. Surprising Tsunayoushi yet again with his actions, the man looked truly happy…as if the thought of Tsunayoushi fearing him troubled him.

"I see, Tsunayoushi I apologize. I don't want you to get in trouble for my account...I just..you…" Giotto gulped silently. "See, I just want to talk to you if it's possible."

Tsunayoushi nodded unsurely.

" Ah, Tsunayoushi are they treating you well?"

"My aunts and uncles?"

"Is that what you call them?" The blond haired man's eyes shone in recognition.

"Yes, they're very kind to me ," Tsunayoushi began to twiddle his thumbs in his lap. "They're my family."

"I see," Giotto sighed in relief, yet flinched a bit at the mention of the word  _'family'_. "I'm very happy they're treating you well Tsunayoushi. You listen to what your father Fong tells you, alright? Never question them. They are always doing what's best for you."

Tsunayoushi didn't even notice as the man became closer and closer to him, he wasn't even across the fence anymore he was standing right in front of him. The boy's heart beated quickly, like the drums in a marching band.

The man smelled like fresh clean soap, Giotto's face remained calming and pleasant; a familiar feeling filled the air as the light breeze made the flowers sway. The familiar feeling filled him with thoughts of Reborn and on how he might never see him again. His thoughts change to his Uncle Skull—

He looks up to Giotto in front of him, who was now looking at him in worry noticing the boy's recent change in mood. "I never ever want to leave or disobey my family! But.. they just keep leaving me."

Giotto sighed. " Tsunayoushi, it's their job…it can't be helped."

"But what about Uncle Reborn..what if he won't come back?" The boy began to tremble. "What if he goes to wherever Uncle Skull went? What if I never see him again?"

At this the man's face changes into a serious pale one.

"Your Uncle Skull never returned?"

" No…"

Giotto clenched his fist, " I see, now about your Uncle Reborn. Did he leave recently?"

Tsunayoushi wasn't even paying attention to what he was saying, his eyes stinged and his heart hurt.

" Yes, this morning, he left by car…"

Giotto's eyes held a flame in them. "I see, so his destination is a bit farther than I expected…then there is still time. Tell me Tsunayoushi, and respond to me truthfully…"

Tsunayoushi looked at the elder man lower himself to his eye level, he kneeled, laying his beautifully creased pants on the garden's grass.

"Do you love your aunties and uncles? I ask you once more, do they treat you well?" Something inside the man's voice sounded hopeful and kind, Tsunayoushi had no choice but to answer to him.

"I love them very much, I don't want anyone of them to leave me. I want Uncle Reborn to come back home so we can play cards together…i want Uncle Skull to come back so we can play Hide and go seek together.." The little boy's eyes began to water." They treat me so well, they read me bed time stories, Uncle Fong loves me enough for two people, Aunt Luce treats me like her son, Uncle Collonello tries to be very happy with me and plays my favorite games...Uncle Verde shows me interesting things, much more interesting than things that are taught at school, my Auntie viper shows me how to hide things and helps me play small pranks…"

A few tears fell.

"I don't ever want to part from them…why…why can't the war just stop?"

Giotto nodded sadly as the child spoke his mind out freely; he made Tsunayoushi feel like an adult, someone to be taken seriously.

After some time, Giotto spoke, his voice cutting through Tsunayoushi's thoughts like a blade."You don't wish Reborn to be harmed?" Giotto's eyes had flame in them, they had inside them truth and an innocent justice.

"No, I don't want that, I don't want anyone to be hurt!"

"Tsunayoushi…" Giotto took the small boy's hand into his own, placing a light kiss on the palm of Tsunayoushi's hand. "If you say you want Reborn back, then that shall be. He will come back to you, so please don't cry.  **I promise you**."

The brown haired boy's face reddened like the apple in his lunch box, steam came from his ears causing the elder man to laugh.

"T-then I ..I believe y-y-you."

Giotto's face broke into a true smile, a smile that felt familiar yet forgotten. " Ah, thank you Tsunayoushi.  _Thank you so much_!" At this, he offered the white box that he held for their entire conversation, the brown eyed boy looked at , perplexed. " I brought a gift for you, may you accept this from me?"

"No, I'm sorry..." As id releasing himself from the other's spell he quickly gets up from the bench to create some space between them. " Uncle Fong tells me I can never take gifts from strangers."

At this the princely man smiles a bit sadly. Dejectedly he adds. " That is good advice, I'm sorry I imposed this on you. Even so, May I see you tomorrow at school? Here, in the same space?"

The boy's heart pounded.

"No , I'm very sorry but I will get in trouble, if someone knows about this..."

The man tries yet again, his eyes dejected.

"Then can it be our secret?"

The boy begins to walk quickly toward the garden's gates on toward class. Giotto makes no motion to follow him or to stop him from escaping.

"No , I cannot talk to you anymore. I'm sorry!"

The boy dashes toward the gate outside the garden never looking back. If he did, he feared that the expression on the blond man's face was the same as Uncle Fong's that day he stopped calling him father. Because he just knew that he had hurt Giotto's feelings. He knew it by the tone in his voice or how the miasma of the garden changed.

But Tsunayoushi doesn't have much time to dwell on those things, not as the recess bell sounds off in the distance.

* * *

For the remainder of the lesson Tsunayoushi's thoughts remained preoccupied by the man who introduced himself as Giotto. He had a similar color to his uncle Collonello's hair, and as such held eyes like the sun's rays. He had a cool air around him and his face had a kind familiarity within his features. Tsunayoushi was unsure of how to act around Giotto. Giotto's exposed hands were outstretched toward the younger boy and with a kneel, a kiss, he was trying to show that his actions and words were filled with devotion.

But Tsunayoushi  **isn't**  easy.

* * *

"Xiăo-Shi, How was school?"

Tsunayoushi could not believe his eyes, the young boy rubbed his eyes again for good measure.

"U-uncle Fong?"

The first day of school had ended and it was time for the children to be picked up by their parents and guardians .Many children remained inside of the school gates as they waited for their turn to go home, some talked amongst themselves or some played by the sandbox. Tsunayoushi and Chrome chose to talk about many things, like their favorite story book or their favorite past times. They had both waited together for a bit, but as it goes, Chrome was picked up first by her brother in his motorbike. Tsunayoushi looked closer at Mukuro who gave him a wink as a greeting, his leather jacket and his ear piercings gave the boy an impression of danger and excitement. It wasn't long before they left that his Uncle Fong came walking calmly, his arm in a cast.

"Aiya, is that any way to greet your uncle?"

Tsunayoushi ran toward his uncle and held on tightly to his waist. "Uncle Fong!I missed you so much!"

The Chinese man smiled gently, waving his hand lightly at the young teacher. She smiled back excitedly and resumed talking with the parent who was concerned about the children's bathroom break rules.

"I missed you too my dear. I'm very glad to be back home with you." They began walking home, the sun set leaving behind an ethereal glow on the landscape ahead of them. " It's been a while hasn't it? Perhaps we can both color and decorate some eggshells as celebration?"

Tsunayoushi held the free hand of his Uncle as they walked together, swinging it lightly. "Really!? Will Aunt Luce be at home too?"

The Chinese man shook his head. "Unfortunately, Aunt Luce was with me at the hospital just a few hours ago. I'm afraid I left her with more work to do on my behalf..."

Tsunayoushi excited over his Uncle's return unintentionally disregarded the broken arm. Concern blended into his features, how could he have not noticed such a thing?

"Uncle Fong, what happened to you?"

And as usual, Fong replies the same way he always has.

"It's a work related injury. It's nothing to worry yourself about. Now about school, how was your first day? Did you make any friends?"

Tsunayoushi's thoughts come toward the princely man who had kissed his palm so tenderly in the sunlit garden. He knows he should tell, he knows he should let his Uncle know of his disobedience, but he doesn't do a thing.

" I met this friend at school…her name is Chrome." Shame clogged his throat, the secrets are continuing to pile up for him. First Hibarin, now .What will become of him?

"Chrome? That sounds like such a nice name, very cute! Do you like your teacher? She seems to be very kind, very young as well!"

" Chrome said she has an older brother his name is Mukuro—"

Tsunayoushi was stopped in mid-sentence, for without warning, Fong picked up the small child in a tight embrace. Like a thief hiding the goods, like a dragon hiding treasure. The Chinese man bundled the child within his coat, making sure his whole body remained covered. He hissed in pain at the usage of his broken arm as the cast ripped lightly.

"Uncle Fo –"

Tsunayoushi was hushed by his uncle, and a feeling of doom fell in the bottom of his stomach. It was absolute dread.

" Tsunayoushi" His Uncle Fong whispered as he held him close. "Hide your face…Now."

But his Uncle Fong was much too late.

A stern looking man in a suit was walking in front of them, his face held high, his posture commanding respect. His platinum blond hair accentuated the golden buttons on his dark suit. No doubt a Capulet. The child in the Chinese man's arms does not panic, just remains perfectly still, hoping, dreading that the man does not look at his face. Tsunayoushi as a child, thinks that if he doesn't see him, neither can the other man, so he closes his eyes tight, as in doing so the man would go away. He ignores the stirring of the nutcracker inside his bag, he doesn't even notice it, he is much too engaged at the predicament at hand.

A second of blankness and the child opens his eyes again, only to come face to face with the Capulet soldier. The man was staring at him with a look of total apathy, a flicker and nothing more. As if he didn't even see them the man breaks off all contact with the duo and walks ahead of them normally, not even acknowledging them in any shape or form. No matter if he saw both Tsunayoushi and Fong's faces.

When the Capulet soldier was out of sight, his Uncle Fong breathed a sigh of relief and then, became perplexed over the situation.

"That is someone I know…"

"Who was that man?" Tsunayoushi helped his Uncle reapply the bandages and the cast on his injured arm, wincing as he did so.

"His name is Aluade , a Capulet Soldier." Fong looked at Tsunayoushi carefully, looking at the small boy as he helped him recast his arm. "Listen Tsunayoushi, if that man ever tries to talk to you, please feign ignorance. Give a fake name, what was the name Colonello used often? Ah, Timithy, Is that Understood?"

"Yes."

The rest of the walk home was in a hurried pace, Fong holding the other boy's hand tightly. No one would take his boy away from him.  _ **No one.**_

* * *

"Hibarin he looked a lot like you."

Tsunayoushi is in his room putting his belongings beneath his bed. He gets up and sees the ghost near the windowsill looking at the scenery before him. He refuses to look at the other boy, his back facing him near the red muted curtains.

"Hiba—"

Hibarin turns around to look at Tsunayoushi, his eyes dim and the feeling behind his eyes an enigma.

"He is my  **elder brother."**

Tsunayoushi does not say a thing and observes how Hibarin turned into small, little particles of glitter and dust, like the Milky Way leaving a trail toward the nutcracker's mouth

That night, the phantom child does not come out of his tombstone, the nutcracker; not even for supper.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to add that Tsunayoushi's backpack is called a randoseru [ランドセル]. It is an elementary school backpack that lasts very long for children. These backpacks are very sturdy! I have one and it is from my memories from a long time ago. So I added it as a symbol of carefree childhood days. It is a very nostalgic item for me, and for many ,many others. Next update is Carousel, bye bye see you later!


	5. Grand Pain

After Tsunayoushi's first day of school the young boy was greeted by his Uncle Fong and Aunt Lal as soon as morning came every day. To the brown haired boy it was something scarce that the same guardians stood by his side almost daily, he was accustomed to long periods of time when he would not be able to see a certain Uncle or Auntie. He is not used to anything being certain in his life, yet, when he wakes to Uncle Fong's kind face and his sad, serene eyes and Lal's orange juice and the way she smiled rarely, Tsunayoushi wants these days to be eternal.

When he washes his face alone he does not feel a thing and it is merely a monotonous chore for the little boy, but when he feels his Uncle Fong's presence as they both wash their face and brush their teeth together it becomes different. It becomes poignant. Or like when Tsunayoushi reaches for his toast in the morning, he pouts because he's a bit too short to reach it from the counter, it's a hassle to retrieve his morning meal. However when his Aunt Lal is there, she reaches for the bread effortlessly and gives it to Tsunayoushi with affection in her eyes.

All of these miniscule things made Tsunayoushi understand wholeheartedly that he truly was not meant to live alone.

* * *

Tsunayoushi is not aware, but on his first day of school many things had occurred that would set his and his family's destiny in motion. Some of the things he could see, like the meeting with Giotto or meeting Chrome alongside her brother. But the changes that he cannot see are what his Aunties and Uncles have kept him ignorant on, like the politics that involves the war and how they were changing, or the reasons that they remained gone from home for so long and how those were also changing.

He thought to himself often that he did not understand the world of the complicated and arrogant adults.

* * *

The day in which they had crossed paths with the Capulet Soldier Alaude had been a sunny day with an even brighter sunset. Tsunayoushi would remember it to be a long, tiresome day, although ignorant of how crucial that day was to the world of the adults that surrounded him.

That day as he held hands leisurely with his Uncle Fong, his Aunt Lal stood near the front door, as if expecting a package. A premonition of something dark remained in her eyes leaving Tsunayoushi questioning himself if he should remain quiet. He sees Uncle Fong's reassuring smile, all previous sense of foreboding leaving the docile child.

"Aunt Lal!" Tsunayoushi greeted happily. "I made a friend today at school! Her name is Chrome!"

The dark haired Italian woman lightly smiled, her eyes reserved. She nodded and gestured for Tsunayoushi to make his way to his room, unbeknownst to the adults that the child was also experiencing a dilemma of his own. In the little boy's mind, his main priority was on Hibarin's lack of energy throughout the day. He privately thanked Lal and went up the stairs quickly, leaving behind his Uncle Fong and Aunt Lal by the entrance to talk amongst themselves.

As soon as Lal made sure the child remained out of sight, her shoulders grew tense, her lips in a strained line. Lal looked deathly still, too still, scrutinizing the Chinese man in front of her, the way that Fong's eyes became half lidded slowly but steadily, the way his knees were giving in as if they were broken.

He was about to faint.

Lal quickly managed to sustain his body by grabbing on the man's shoulders, helping him walk carefully towards the nearest sofa available to them.

"Fong, you pushed yourself too hard." Her eyes are angry.

The Chinese man laughs lightly, for that was all he could do. "Now, now, this is nothing Lal, it will heal in time." He patted his broken arm gently, the woman in front of him not backing down.

"Fong," Her voice was strong. "–you can barely even stand. You faked for Tsunayoushi's sake didn't you? You were in pain every second you were walking with Tsunayoushi, weren't you?" Her voice did not waver, but her eyes began to gloss lightly.

Fong continued to smile gently as he usually did. "Don't say it so loud Lal ,hahaha." He shifted slowly and painfully on the couch. "I just really wanted to be there for him on the first day of school was all…" Lal helped Fong lay down, the man wincing occasionally but his good nature never leaving him. She handed him a glass of water which he accepted as if he hadn't drank in years.

"So please Lal, don't be mad with me, I just wanted to see Tsunayoushi as soon as possible." The man had a sweet smile, such kind protective eyes. Lal could not be angry with him. She felt her façade dropping, she gripped the edge of the sofa cushions.

"Fong—"

"I couldn't protect her Lal, I couldn't protect…" He closed his eyes tightly, as if he were in pain.

"Fong don't blame yourself. You did what you could for her." She refused to look at the other adult in the room, her eyes choosing to focus on the neutral color of the sofa.

Fong stopped smiling, his eyes opening once more, glimmering like the night sky's stars.

"If that is the extent for what I could do for Viper, then I am not as strong as I like to think I am. How could I think that I could protect others… if this is what I amount to in the end?"

Lal had a few tears in her eyes, a rare but meaningful sight.

"She appreciated everything you did for her…"

"Even if I could not save her from her own death?"

The living room remained still, the only sound coming from the refrigerator in the kitchen. That refrigerator cut the silence between the two people's conversation, the one that was decorated with Tsunayoushi's magnet picture frames that Reborn had won for him at the county fair a long time ago. Its picture inside the frame was a silly one, yet it contained happiness whenever one would take a glimpse at it.

In that picture all the Arcobalenos surrounded Tsunayoushi's 8th birthday cake, the cherry blossoms at the park in full bloom behind them. Tsunayoushi's head was in the cake thanks to his Uncle Reborn's mischievous hand, Lal held back a drunken Colonnello who was attempting to beat the crap out of Skull who was cowering behind Fong. Fong smiled brightly at Tsunayoushi unaware of the misconduct occurring in the photo, while Luce was linked on to Fong's arm aware of the drunken beating Skull had brought forward onto him. To the side of Luce remained Viper holding the plates and utensils ready for the cake as Verde looked at everyone in an amused manner, a wine glass raised to his lips.

They could never go back to those days.

Lal does not say a word, yet Fong continues to speak, the way he spoke was too quiet.

"Reborn's probably dead by now."

Lal turned to the side "Fong, "she warned.

Fong did not stop. "They caught me, but as soon as they had caught on towards Viper's hiding spot, something inside of me snapped. Just like I had snapped when Skull had said those things to us at the dinner table before he…" The man does not finish that sentence. "One of the soldiers that had gotten a hold of Viper began to twist her arm and I could not see a thing anymore after that, for I had become taken in by my own rage."

"I killed the soldier that dared hurt someone from my family in such a way, and as I began trying to defend her as well as myself, I was brought back to reality as I noticed how badly Viper was hurt. She could barely keep her eyesight focused….I carried her Lal…"

The Italian women could no longer keep her eyes dry.

"I carried her all across the battlefield with me, walking on top of corpses of soldiers, villagers and little children. I could barely keep up with my own feet, I was careless and I had caused both myself and Viper to fall. We fell right in front of an enemy settlement, the commotion of our fall immediately attracted Capulet soldiers. I started to fight off all the men that surrounded us, I lost count how many they were perhaps 8? 10? I started to kill them with my bare hands as many as I could…."

An intake of breath. The eyes of a brilliant adult that yearned for a future that was certain and true, "I wanted….I wanted to protect her Lal, you know this right?"

Fong did not cry, yet he saw the way small tears formed around the edge of Lal's eyes. She seemed angry and her tears seemed a lot like her Fong thought fondly as he looked at the woman in front of him, so stubborn and proud.

"The remaining two soldiers took advantage of my fatigue and managed to knock me down, they began to beat me, spit on me, I endured it all for Viper's sake. After a while, the men grew tired of me and threw me around, causing one of my arms to collide on the tip of a rock. As I felt the pain of my broken arm they cocked a gun and shot Viper in the head right in front of me, but you already know that from Luce right? After all she stayed doing all our paperwork at the hospital…"

"I was about to die Lal, I knew it was my time to die. And I thought to myself that I was not happy, I would have liked to see Tsunayoushi smile one last time before I'd have gone. Right when I was certain in my mind I was to die, Reborn came in just at the right time. I fear I owe that man more than I would like to admit..." Fong laughed through his nose. "He shot everyone silently, as usual. After I came to, I awoke to Luce in the hospital."

"Where is Reborn now?" Lal asked in hesitance.

"He has been missing since that incident, he hasn't even sent Collonello a message to annoy him. We know how well Reborn and Collonello use our military equipment," He laughed lightly as Lal's lips quiver into a smile, tears still in her eyes. "They usually send threatening messages to each other, much like a game of tag. Reborn has not sent a single message since his mission has started. Luce told me Reborn left me in the head doctor's care and immediately left as soon as Luce arrived at the hospital. He didn't even speak to her, Luce told me he refused to look her in the eye, as if he were being hunted."

Silence fell once again between the two adults, Lal and Fong thought subjectively where Reborn could have been going. Was he actually being hunted and this was the way he chose to warn them discreetly to pack up and go? Or was he just running short on time?

"In brighter news," The Chinese man said as he dabbed Lal's tears with his handkerchief, the one Tsunayoushi had knitted for him on Christmas, "Colonnello is returning in a week, he visited me in a hurry as I was getting my bandages done. Such a nice man, that Colonnello is always so thoughtful of everyone. Even though he'd like to come off as standoffish, aren't you glad your lover is returning soon Lal?"

Lal blushed in embarrassment, reprimanding Fong for his shameless remarks. Of course she was happy he would come back safely, after all he was one of the few surviving members of what used to be the Great Arcobalenos.

* * *

They used to be great.

* * *

A week had passed since Tsunayoushi's first day of school, things remained the same and different all at the same time. His Uncle Fong took him to school every day, and as they held hands the little boy liked to pretend that Uncle Fong was truly his father. That there was no war and that he had a tranquil school life, in these halcyon days Tsunayoushi liked to hold his Uncle's and Auntie's hands more than anything.

In the afternoon his Aunt Lal would pick him up from school, oftentimes they stopped by the outdoor market to pick up something simple to snack on. As Tsunayoushi came more frequently to the market he grew more aware of how little the Market had to offer and how expensive it was. Granted his Aunts and Uncles never complained about lacking money, but Tsunayoushi could tell that it took a toll out of his classmate's lives. When he opened his lunchbox he made sure to share with the class, after all he was one of the few that had meat for every one of his school lunches. In doing so, Tsunayoushi grew to have a good reputation among his classmates, everyone shared their lunch together making it seem like a great party every lunch break. Even his friend Chrome, which was shy in the beginning became very well-liked by her classmates, as she would bring enough canned peaches for the entire room.

"My brother works as a supplier," she confessed to Tsunayoushi one day. "We have a warehouse filled with food that we sell to everyone."

Regardless if Tsunayoushi had been able to make many friends, the friend that he wished he could eat together with in recess, or the hands he wished he could hold as they walked to the restroom together was none other than Hibarin. Since the meeting with the Capulet Soldier Alaude, Hibarin spent many of his days pretending to be asleep, his tantrum growing tenfold. He refused to talk to Tsunayoushi for whatever reason, hiding in the attic and only coming out to steal snacks and sweets. Truth be told, Hibarin was embarrassed of showing Tsunayoushi such a weak side of him, to think that an evil vampire such as he could sulk in such a manner.

* * *

Tsunayoushi looked at the nutcracker on his bed as he was getting ready for school one Wednesday morning. The little boy continued to sneak glances at the nutcracker as he was changing and after some internal struggle, gulped as he chose to enfold the toy in a tight hug.

"Today Hibarin, let's do our best!" Tsunayoushi's body began to tremble, hesitant. "It's ok if there are things you don't want to talk about! So...let's.." The little boy remembers how he plays pretend with his Uncle Fong, how he pretends sometimes as they hold hands that they were father and son. "Let's continue to walk together, ok?"

The smoke that appeared out of the nutcracker's mouth had a different color than the previous times, it was a pink salmon color mixed in with yellow, the powder glittering magically like a peach blossom. Hibarin looked a little bit embarrassed as he stood on the bed, he had his arms crossed glaring at the timid boy beneath him.

"Hibarin?"  _Did I make him angry again? Was it no good what I just said…_

The little boy could not muse over his thoughts carefully, because in that moment Hibarin jumped at the smaller child.  _Is he going to bite or suck me to death!?_  But what the child was greeted with was none of those things but a warm sensation.

"Herbivore." The little ghost boy told the living child as they embraced. "I will tell you about my elder brother Alaude someday."

Tsunayoushi could only hug the little ghost boy back, for in that moment he had an epiphany. It truly didn't matter for Tsunayoushi what kind of secrets his important people had in their heart, it didn't matter what they could not let him know. Because just like his Aunties and Uncles, he too had secrets. Tsunayoushi thought to himself that they could keep their secrets if they wanted to, the only thing he would ask of them if they could please continue to remain by his side.

* * *

"Uncle Fong?"

The Chinese man placed the Omelet in front of the young boy alongside a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. He sat near the child, placing a napkin on his lap.

"Yes, xiao-shi?" The Chinese man smiled, shifting his broken arm with his good arm. "Ah, you should be quick to eat, after all your school begins in 30 minutes. You need to eat well so you can grow up to be a strong young man."

"Lil-Tuna also needs some meat, where's the iron!?" Colonnello entered the room with one of his hands over Lal's shoulder (which she shrugged off harshly).

"Uncle Colonnello, Aunt Lal good morning!" Tsunayoushi chirped as he ate a spoonful of his rice omelet. Since the return of his American Uncle last night the house was much brighter, wherever his Uncle Colonnello entered, nothing could match his charisma that made everyone around him laugh at his silly jokes.

"Did you and Auntie Lal sleep well? You two had a sleep over?"

Uncle Collonnello winked at Tsunayoushi flirtatiously "Well we didn't get much sleep last night if you catch my drift. Maybe I'll show you when you're older…"

Lal slapped the blond's head causing the man to fall head first onto his omelet. Fong began to laugh in a playful manner at the confused expression on the child's face, how cute!

"You pervert! Not in front of the kid!" The Italian woman scolded. "Honestly Colonnello you're nothing but a huge idiot!"

"Hey, don't get mad Lal!" Colonnello sheepishly rubbed the spot where she had brought justice upon him just a few seconds ago. "Hey…we're still gonna have se- 'sleepovers', right? You're not that mad, are ya?"

The Italian woman reprimanded Colonnello with one icy stare that said ' _Shut up if you know what's good for you.'_  Colonnello smiled nervously at the silent threat, choosing to lock eyes with the brown haired child next to him.

"Tuna, seems I'm stuck in the dog house! Can I sleep over your room instead?"

"Ok!...But we don't have a dog…much less a dog house.."

"Stop filling Tsunayoushi with idiocy," Lal spoke as she applied ketchup to her omelet, sending occasionally icy stares to the now whistling blond man. "Say, Tsunayoushi, today I won't be able to pick you up. Colonnello will, is that ok?"

At this, Tsunayoushi looked up quickly from his breakfast with a panicked and hurt look on his face. "Do you have to go back to work?"

Lal looked a bit wistful, she understood the implications of his questions. The implication that they might never return home, ' _that they might leave him all alone,'_  she thought. "No I don't have to, at least not for a while. I just have to go take care of some Bank business."

"Bank?" The child tilted his head. "That's Aunt Viper's job isn't it?" At the mention of Viper every adult on the table stopped their previous activity to look at each other contemplatively. Wondering what they should tell the child in front of them. They could keep him ignorant on many things, but this, this couldn't be contained for much longer.

"Where is she?" The brown haired boy said as he eyed the coloring books on the counter, the ones Viper bought for him on the day of their big move to the countryside. "I haven't seen her in such a long time. I haven't even had the chance to talk to her properly since the big move. Has Auntie been really busy with work?"

"Tsunayoushi," Those words came from his Uncle Colonnello's lips. It was rare for his full name to be said by the American, so he knew the words to come after that were to be taken seriously. The American's clear blue eyes reminded him of the gold fish tank at school and how the water on the surface rippled when they walked. "Your Aunt Viper, she can't come back."

Fong remained silent and just stared at the food in front of him, losing his appetite as Lal looked a bit nervous unlike herself at the dinner table. She looked at the young boy seated next to Fong whose eyes began to widen. Tsunayoushi looked as if cold water was splashed on his face, he did not speak.

Colonnello remained composed and bit into his breakfast. "You will never see her again."

Tsunayoushi continued to stare at his Uncle Colonnello, half expecting him to say it was a joke, half expecting him to remain in the same composed manner. "Is…is it the same place Brother Skull left to?"

At this Fong stands up laughing a bit. "My, my Xiao-shi, you're very talkative today! I know, after school how about we go to a picnic in the woods? Your Aunt Lal should be back by that time, what do you say?"

Tsunayoushi looks at his shoes. "Is Uncle Reborn going to the the same place that Auntie Viper and Brother Skull went to?"

The three adults all raised their heads to look at Tsunayoushi, shocked and at a loss for words. For this is the first time Tsunayoushi had ever chosen to remain on the subject, stubborn. Lal reprimanded herself silently for even telling the boy she was going to the bank, for indeed she was going for Viper's sake. She was to collect all the money out of Viper's bank accounts due to the fact she had left everything to the Arcobaleno in her will. After all that happened, the Arcobaleno found it peculiar that in death she was quite generous, for in her life she was anything but that.

Fong looked at the clock above them. "Aiyaa, Tsunayoushi! We better hurry with our breakfast, we're going to run late!" The Chinese man arose from his seat promptly, collecting his eating utensils toward the now running faucet.

Tsunayoushi does not make any motion to move, for his question remained unanswered. It is a normal occurrence for him and Tsunayoushi understood at that moment that there were two kinds of lonely. The 1st one is how he feels when there is no one around, like when his aunts and uncles don't come back in months. That kind of loneliness he thinks is unbearable, but now he knows a 2nd kind. The kind of loneliness that hits you even when you're surrounded by people. That feeling when your voice becomes lost in a crowd.

He continues to eat, preoccupied with his thoughts until he feels a pat on his head.

It was his Uncle Colonnello.

"Tuna," The American flashed a charming smile at the boy, his eyes like the sea, washing away all of Tsunayoushi's feelings of doubt and mistrust. "Hey, just smile for me will ya?"

And Tsunayoushi gives his Uncle Colonnello a big toothy smile, because that is what he was taught to do.

* * *

Colonnello and Fong remained on parallel sides of the younger boy as they walked toward his school, both holding on to one of his hands, lifting him up carefully as if he were playing on the monkey bars at a park. Tsunayoushi giggled often, his stomach doing summersaults as his tiptoes detached from the ground.

"Good Morning, Chrome-chan!"

"Good morning Tsunayoushi-kun," The small girl greeted them from behind the school gate, she smiled lightly at the young boy. "Did you do your homework?"

"Yeah I got help from Hibarin yesterday…I didn't really get it."

Recognition flashed her eyes. "Oh, from Hibarin…is he still mad at you?"

"No, he's talking to me now," The brown haired boy's eyes glimmered. "That's why I'm really happy today Chrome-chan! I'll tell you all about it near our lockers!"

The two uncles looked at how Tsunayoushi talked animatedly with the young girl in front of them, neither paid much mind to the content of the conversation. In fact, they were just content with their boy's capabilities of getting along quite well with children his age. Especially since prior to his enrollment of school his interaction with children his age was quite limited.

"Hey, yo, tuna!" Colonnello grinned, "Is that your girlfriend? Why don't you take her out for a lunch date or somethin', I can give you pointers kid." He began to poke the child's side, teasing him. Fong bit the inside of his cheek, not wanting to embarrass the child in front of him any further (or get on his bad side).

"She's not my girlfriend!" The little boy cried out in indignation, running inside the school's front gate in haste. "Uncle Colonnello, Auntie Lal is right! You're dumb!"

Chrome giggled at the sudden declaration of her classmate, she bowed politely to the two men in front of her and promptly followed the blushing boy inside. "Tsuna-kun, wait for me!"

"TUNA!DON'T LEAVE ME, BABY!" The blond man faked a sniffle, embarrassing the young child even further. "I SWEAR I'll CHANGE! Don't listen to your Aunt Lal you hear!? She's craaaazyyyyy!You're the ONLY ONE FOR ME! REMEMBER WHEN YOU WERE 7 YEARS OLD!?YOU PROMISED TO MARRY ME!"

Fong chuckled lightly, "Seems like you're in 2 dog houses now, aren't you Colonnello?"

The American man smiled sloppily as he turned back towards the rode that would lead them home. "I'm just a smooth talker like always, y'know? Let's walk slower when we go home. I don't wanna do laundry today…I just came back from work! Shit, I really don't wanna do any stinkin' chores!"

The Chinese man laughed at Colonnello's childishness, looking forward to the picnic that was to come after Tsunayoushi's school day. As the two men walked and reminisced of their days when they were younger and known as the Great Arcobalenos, the clouds were separating themselves slowly from each other, leaving behind a limitlessly blue sky. Fong wished as the morning sun hit him and Colonnello that these insouciant days could last for just a little while longer.

* * *

At lunch time the classroom was filled with cacophonous laughter from the children inside as they waited in line patiently with their drinks at hand. Multiple lunch boxes of a variety of bright colors decorated the teacher's desk, open with their contents inviting and enticing. The children formed a line, picked of what they wanted to sample and either sat down and ate, or took their lunch outside.

"Tsuna-kun, I'll be going with my brother now." The girl with the violet sweater tapped her friend on the shoulder causing Tsuna to turn his head as he attempted to open his locker.

"Ok, Chrome-chan. Have fun!"

At this Chrome looks at her hands and begins to fidget. "My brother says it's ok if you want to eat with us sometime, he says he likes you. He thinks you're funny."

Tsunayoushi's eyes lit up, his check's a light shade of pink. "He-he said that!? Wow, such a cool person likes me…I'm so happy." The young boy imagines a shiny looking Mukuro, winking on his motorcycle.

Chrome laughs lightly at this, "Big brother said he's happy I made a friend like you. I don't have many friends. He doesn't let me talk to too many people…" At this she covers her mouth quickly, as if she had said a bad word.

The young boy is a little startled, but ignores it as not to embarrass the girl. He knows there are some thing you must never pry of. "I want to eat with you and your brother again…but today I can't." Tsuna begins to pout with worried eyes. "Teacher Kyoko told me she had to talk to me in recess. I hope I'm not in trouble."

Chrome's eyebrows furrowed, she was just as confused as the boy was. "Do you want me to stay with you until she comes? I don't think you're in trouble…we were good today and learned the new poem quickly."

"No, it's ok. Teacher Kyoko said it's nothing bad."

As if summoned by his words the young teacher walks in carrying a tray of pudding snacks. She began to hand them out one by one to the children standing near her, her eyes are flickering back and forth in the crowd of children as if searching for something. She stops as she sees Tsunayoushi's frame next to the lockers.

"Ah, Tsunayoushi! Just who I wanted to see, if you could come over here please?" She motioned for him to come closer with her hand, her smile welcoming.

As the boy and girl bid each other their 'see you soons', Tsunayoushi's mind was filled with numerous thoughts over what the teacher could want with him. His stomach tightened as he walked closer and closer to the young teacher passing out pudding cups.

"Tsunayoushi," She said gently as she bent down to his eye level. It reminded Tsunayoushi of  _him_ , the man whose mannerisms were like a prince. Mr. Giotto.

"Since you're doing so well in your classes, I'm going to give you a special assignment. This is a very important job, are you prepared Tsunayoushi?"

The young boy's eyes shined as if they were jewels,  _an important job_!?  _Him!?_ What if the teacher gave him the same jobs Hibarin was able to do at his age? Hibarin would really be impressed with him now!

"Yes!" Tsunayoushi spoke enthusiastically, clenching his tiny fists. "Yes, I'm ready!"

Tsunayoushi does not understand the reason why his Teacher's eyes cloud a little, he does not understand her hesitance and as to why she is not sure if she should give him the assignment. Kyoko bites her lip.

"Starting from today, you will go every Wednesday to the School's garden. You may take your lunch with you and while there I want you to write in this diary the kind of birds that flock to the trees." The petite woman hands him a nice flat notepad that had a picture of a lion on top of a circus tube. "If none come that is fine, instead I want you to write about the insects you see in the garden patch. We're concerned over the type of insects and birds that may threaten out garden. Tsunayoushi, Its a very important job."

"I understand Teacher Kyoko!" The boy's heart began to beat excitedly in his chest, proud and delighted.

"Good boy, Tsunayoushi." Kyoko patted his head lightly. "Do you promise to keep this a secret?"

"I do!" The young boy said without thinking. "Can I tell my Uncle and Aunties?"

"No," Kyoko bit her lip. "I don't think you should tell them. It's a secret for when they come visit the Garden. Then we can surprise them and tell them it's all thanks to you that the garden has become lovely. Promise me you won't tell about this to your guardians?"

The little boy imagined the pleased looks on his family's face, to think that he could impress them in such a way. He wanted to keep this a secret, he wanted to show them that even during this war he was capable of helping someone, even just a little bit.

"I promise Teacher Kyoko! I won't tell anyone!" At this the boy quickly heads toward the door with notebook and pudding cup in hand. Invigorated and inspired, he quickly made his way toward the sunlit gardens that remained located in back of the school.

When the child is far gone, Kyoko continues to stare at the spot the boy stood during their conversation. Her hands move up to her face slowly, covering it, and sighs as if she were crying.

" _I'm sorry Tsunayoushi."_

* * *

Tsunayoushi sat on the white bench located inside of the sunlit garden. The bench was positioned near the flowers, their smell intoxicating his nostrils with a pleasant smell. He thought of picking some flowers for the return of his Aunt Luce, and with that thought he goes toward the flowerbed with the pink Carnations .He looks at the soil and notices a lady bug crawling up the flowers stems and goes to investigate where it's coming from.

"Tsunayoushi?"

The voice startles the young boy, for he believed he would never ever speak to the owner of the voice again.

" …"

In front of him is Giotto not in his uniform but in civilian clothing, yet even with civilian clothing he gave off an impression of elegance and nobility. His clothes were too well kept for him to be just a common man, that and the miasma surrounding him left a strong statement. As he carried a satchel bag in one hand, he crouches down slowly as not to scare the young boy.

"Do you remember me, Tsunayoushi? I don't mean to frighten you." The man's eyes are depths of emotion as he looked at the child, as if just looking at the young boy made him reminisce on the tragic. Like a boat lost at sea.

The child thought to run, yet he knew he shouldn't. The important job was bestowed upon him, he couldn't just let his Teacher Kyoko down so quickly. Not after he had promised to her that he would do his best, promises were meant to be kept.

_Eat a thousand needles if I lie._

Yet the other part of him knows he's being a bad child. He is lying to his Aunties and Uncles for he is keeping something hidden from them. A stranger, someone that they do not know. The child is torn between the two and can only stare at the hypnotic man in front of him. Giotto was now sitting right next to the child on the grass, his eyes still on Tsunayoushi.

The boy begins to pout, refusing to look up at the other man. Tsunayoushi looks at the flowers, his hands gripping pieces of grass firmly and stubbornly.

"Ah," Giotto says as he looks at the pudding cup near the child. "Do you like pudding Tsunayoushi? That's one of my favorite snacks. I like mine with caramel at the bottom of the cup, what about you?"

_Caramel?_  Tsunayoushi's eyes lit up.

"I also love strawberry cake. The more strawberry filling the better. Oh but, what I really like is almonds, chocolate and coconut mixed together, just thinking about them makes my mouth water."

"I like them too!" Tsunayoushi blurted out, instantly regretting his outburst as he covers his mouth with his hands quickly.

"Really?" The adult happy that he could make Tsunayoushi speak to him easily smiles. "Do you like yours with yogurt?"

"I love yogurt…" The boy spoke softly, ashamed that he continues to speak to the older male without thought.

"What other things do you like Tsunayoushi?" Giotto began to rummage through his belongings, taking out a rouge lunchbox with utensils. His lunchbox was not very colorful, Tsunayoushi noted, it looked a lot like his Uncle's lunchboxes. Lacking in any kind of decoration but made up for it in size.

"I like cookies with nuts in them…" Tsunayoushi replied, yet his eyes were on the lunch of the elder male. It looked very delicious, chicken with what he could tell to be rice mixed with something strange, it looked like corn. A cup of a green soup that he had never seen before also accompanied the meal with a salad with ingredients he couldn't even name.

"Do you want to eat lunch together, Tsunayoushi?" The man asks this with such a gentle smile that it causes Tsunayoushi to rub his eyes, he had to make sure it wasn't his Uncle Fong. "I brought you something sweet to eat today, but first you need to eat real food."

"I have my own food it's at—"The brown haired boy pats the ground next to him. "OH, no! I forgot it in the classroom…I was such in a hurry to get here…"

"Its fine Tsunayoushi," Giotto patted the boy in the back to calm him down a bit. "I brought this to share with you anyways. It's fine, here's a plate."

The little boy began to feel embarrassed as the adult handed him a plate and began serving him food earnestly. The man in front of him, Tsunayoushi thought, was not related to him nor was he a teacher. He felt it strange as to why would the man be so kind to him, why would the man continue to seek him out if all he did was turn away? The little boy does not understand why the man looks at him as if they aren't strangers, as if he knows him from long ago.

"How is it, Tsunayoushi?" Giotto questioned as he saw the little boy take small bites of his meal, the adult seemed a bit nervous. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, it's very, very good! It's almost as good as my Uncle Fong's cooking." Tsunayoushi begins to eat eagerly, trying the soup as well. "It's very yummy but I don't know what they are. I never had this kind of food."

"I'm happy to hear you say that Tsunayoushi. I was really worried that you wouldn't like it. I spent all last week trying to figure out how to make it."

The boy tilts his head.

"You…made this for me?"

When the man averts his eyes as if someone had called him, Tsunayoushi learns that even someone as big as an adult could become embarrassed.

"Yes," The blond man admits with a light blush. "I really wanted to try eating with you."

"Oh…why?" Confusion then guilt falls over the young boy's face. "But I treated you very rudely last time."

Giotto closes his eyes and shakes his head slowly as he places his hand on top of the smaller child's hand, it startled Tsunayoushi but he makes no motion to spring up and run.

"Tsunayoushi…" The sophisticated man looks at him with such gentle eyes. "Its fine, it doesn't matter to me if you treat me unwell, as long as…" Giotto catches himself. "At that time you didn't even treat me rudely, you were very kind. You were being a good boy, after all it isn't very wise to talk to strangers."

The brigadier general had no idea why just talking seemed more difficult than handling his men and barking orders. He is frustrated why talking to a small boy could make him flustered and make him act like an awkward love-struck fool.

"I just…I just really want to be your friend Tsunayoushi."

"Y-you want to be my friend?" The brown haired child asked in confusion. "Really?"

"Yes," The blond man gulped. "Will you let me Tsunayoushi?"

Tsunayoushi continued to stare up at the elder man, not speaking.

"I don't know…I don't want to get in trouble." The boy averts his eyes. "My aunties and uncles don't let me talk to you..."

Giotto's eyes flash in worry.

"They tell you that? They've told you about me?" The blond man grips his fork tightly, eager on what the boy has to say.

"N-no, they don't say you… but all Capulets. Mister you're a Capulet right?"

At this, Giotto smiles a taciturn smile. "Not completely."

"Eh? How?"

"I'm going to let you in on a secret Tsunayoushi, I'm half Montague and Capulet."

_What…really..!?_  The child's eyes held sparkles in them, his disbelief that an adult could trust him with such a cool secret came shining through. Tsunayoushi was now fully facing the elder male, curious and excited, all previous sense of fear and mistrust leaving him like the clouds revealing a bright sun on that afternoon.

* * *

The conversation continued between the adult and the child as they ate, both enjoying their fortunate weather as well as the food they had consumed. The garden's miasma had changed into one of familiarity as Tsunayoushi was getting used to the scenery as well as the man in front of him. They both ate a slice of cake together, strawberry, the boy gathered as he took a bite.

"Mr. Giotto, why do you come here to the garden? You were here the last time I came here." The blond haired man's eyes are blank, unsure of what to say to the child's questions." Ah, I think I know who you are…you're the garden keeper! Last time I saw you in the pet store because you were buying some medicine for the bugs here right?"

Giotto tried his hardest not to laugh at the boy's deduction skills. "Hm, indeed I'm the garden keeper Tsunayoushi. In a way I'm kind of like a teacher. If you like, when people ask about me you can say you were talking to . Giotto is my first name, so you must always address me as for they might not know otherwise. It's fine if you just call me Giotto though."

So that's why he was being so nice, he was a teacher,  **a good guy**. "Teacher Kyoko told me there are bugs that sometimes eat our garden and cause problems, so she gave me a very important job to do. I have to record in my notebook the bugs and birds that come to feed in the garden. So far I've only seen a few small birds and a lady bug."

The man nodded as he bite into a forkful of strawberry.

"Oh I, see. What else did your Teacher Kyoko tell you?"

"Well she said that it was a secret…I know I can tell you because it's your job to take care of the gardens. That's why I always see you here. But she told me that I'm coming here every Wednesday." He would be able to talk to the nice teacher Mr. Tokugawa more in that way, knowing that, it made the child incredibly happy inside. "I hope I won't disturb your work…"

At that statement Giotto frowns. A bird begins to chirp in the distance joining in muffled voices of children.

"Tsunayoushi you're never a bother, alright? So please don't say things like that anymore."  _For you_  Giotto said to himself,  _I have done so much and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life._

The little boy looks pensively to the flowers in front of him and says "My aunties and aunts say that too... I don't know if it's really true sometimes."

The man sighs.

"I'm sure you're not a bother to them and they enjoy having you around." Giotto looks at Tsunayoushi's small frame, how he continued to twirl the grass with his fingers. "Even if they're busy, I'm sure they want nothing more than to spend some time with you." Giotto gets a faraway look in his eyes, looking at the little boy yet not looking at him at the same time. "I think that there comes a time in childhood when you have to make a decision, something painful that you don't want to do. Once that decision is made you become an adult quite forcefully, you can no longer go back to the way things were." His eyes begin to take on an angry look, one of a wounded animal. "There is no other option in life except to  **endure**. That is the way life is,  **to exist is to endure."**

Tsunayoushi understands that sometimes adults talk to themselves, so he just listens and sees the way the adult's eyes quickly lose their bite. He thought of his Uncle Reborn, how sometimes he became so angry that he even once hit Auntie Lal . He blocks these thoughts and decides to ask questions.

"Mr Giotto, are your parents nice like you?"

"Ah," At this Giotto's calm face cracks, it was an expression of nothingness. "About that Tsunayoushi, My parents…" He looks to the left at the strawberry patch just near the gate, the adult smiles a little sadly.

"I don't have any."

The brown haired boy's eyes widen just a bit, the light of the sun shining through them giving them a yellow tint.

"You don't have any parents…?"

"No."

"I don't have any parents either!" The child speaks as if Giotto and he had been comrades for a long time, he begins to love the person in front of him more and more. He wants to talk to the gardener even more. "It's sad sometimes, when you don't have any but that's ok, because Uncle Fong tells me he loves me enough for two people. Do you have a person like that too?"

Giotto smiles tenderly at the child next to him, touched and saddened. "No, not in particular, I have very good friends though that have helped me in my dark times. But Tsunayoushi , I'm very glad you have someone kind like your Uncle Fong with you. You seem to love him very much Tsunayoushi, Is he picking you up from school today?"

"He takes me to school but my auntie takes turns. One of my uncles came back from work and I like to play with him."

The young boy decided inside his mind that he wanted to be 's best friend no matter what. He was nothing like the adults he knew and treated him like an equal. He treated him like Hibarin did. The gardener demonstrated on that day to the younger boy that he too was someone that Tsunayoushi could share secrets and food together _. Someone that would always be there for him_.

"My Auntie Lal says he is a dumb guy, and that he didn't even finish school. He's also a Capulet but my auntie told me he's the good kind of Capulet. We hide him at home so he can't go outside a lot because the people will think badly of him. I don't get it, why people don't understand that my uncle Colonello is a good guy, he's not a bad guy. Do people think you're bad too because you're a Capulet?"

Giotto listened to the boy's chatter as he began to pick up their eating utensils and plates.

"Yes, I'm afraid they do often." The blond man places his lunch box back into his satchel, fastening it neatly. "I try to be kind to everyone and make sure things are run very efficiently, even so many people act upon gossip instead of the truth."

"But why can't you tell them only half of you is bad, so they can leave you alone?" The thought of people being mean to made little Tsunayoushi angry, how can they be mean to ? The man who tended the gardens and that would listen to him talk couldn't be a bad guy.  _There was no way._

"Tsunayoushi, do you honestly think being a Capulet is bad?" Giotto breaths through his nose as if annoyed the little boy would say that. "Do you think I'm half good and half bad as you say?"

The boy raises a hand to his head in thought.

"Hmm, I think you're a good person even though you scared me at first." Giotto flinched lightly. "I don't think Capulets are bad because my Uncle Colonnello is one and he is a very good person. Some Montague people tell others that you guys are monsters but I've seen you around town and you guys don't have any monster faces. You guys just look like normal people."

The man begins to smile as he pats the boy's head. "That's because they  **are**  normal people. You're very bright Tsunayoushi, brighter than most adults I have to say."

"So your parents also have to be good Capulets!" Tsunayoushi chatted on, not leaving his curiosity behind. " But..do you sometimes think about your parents and what happened to them?" The boy lowers his head toward the ground. "Because  _I do_ , a whole lot."

The adult feels a strong sorrow swell up on his chest, wanting to hug the little boy that he knows should be much closer to him than his Aunties and Uncles. A sudden surge of possessiveness comes into Giotto's thoughts, but he pushes them away because he is a noble man. He will do what's best for Tsunayoushi, and Tsunayoushi loves his Aunts and Uncles. He would never take that love away from him.

"I feel the same way Tsunayoushi.I think about them a lot. Quite often actually, it's not just children that call for their mother and father Tsunayoushi, its adults as well."

* * *

It had happened when Giotto was only 17 years old.

* * *

Giotto was startled by the uproar that he had heard in their parent's bedroom that night.

The blond teen looked lazily to his left, searching for his brother in the darkness. Giotto stood on his feet, walking toward the crib enthusiastically and sleep deprived, he is not looking forward to dealing with the infant's fussiness tonight. He finds Tsunayoushi awake on his back, staring curiously at the little star shaped toys dangling in front of him. The teen smiled tenderly, relieved as he placed a blanket on top of the child, tucking him in in shape of a small egg.

' _Mother and Father need to stop drinking so late at night…'_

Honestly, Giotto was more than happy with the sleeping arrangements. He always viewed his parents as good-natured people yet were too playful for his liking. Knowing that his parents would be constantly baking due to their job as Café shop owners, the whole family had come to an agreement that it would be for the best to locate Tsunayoushi's crib in his elder brother's room. In that manner, Giotto could keep an eye on him and his parents wouldn't have to reach far to see the child. It was very convenient for Giotto's room was right next to the kitchen.

Tomorrow would be Giotto's military test, it would be the test that would set his future not only as a Capulet resident but also his destiny. He had spent many sleepless nights reading theories of government and law, he had spent days filled with combat training to secure his success in the test that would allow his family to prosper. As the eldest son he volunteered himself to be sacrificed to the military instead of his father who he feared was growing older. The Capulet nation held a requirement for at least one person in the household to hold some type of Government connection, a rule that if were to be broken were punishable with exile or even execution. He did well, and left his formal education with a scholarship at 11 years old to study for the government's militaristic school. In there he was viewed as a prodigy, not only was he intelligent and had good memory, but he also held a characteristic that was unique to him. That trait is the sole reason for his scholarship, and that reason is that he is a half blood. Half Montague, Half Capulet.

Half Bloods were unheard of, cases of them were rare and due to the prejudice that many faced chose to keep such information hidden for the rest of their lives.

* * *

The love story between Giotto's parents was not a heart pounding one filled with the usual dramatics and the intricate plot of a romance novel. It was something simple and poignant, something that wasn't as flimsy as falling in love at first sight. Both had met by chance in the Montague ship ports as Giotto's father was employed at the time to a Capulet seafood business. Every morning a woman would come to sell them donuts and coffee, one of the only few that would even approach the Capulets, and even spoke to them amicably. After some time, the man and the woman both declared their feelings for one another, and thus their relationship began. Giotto's mother stood behind for sometimes weeks on end for at least two years looking forward to Giotto's father's visits. They had enough of such a relationship and decided to marry, and without a doubt they were rejected by the Montague nation. Giotto's mother was also sentenced to exile, so the couple decided it would be best to start a new life in the Capulet nation.

Once they reached Capulet soil they were allowed to marry on one condition. Gaining the attention and support of a certain faction of the government, they were allowed to marry if they granted permission for their future children to be monitored onto adulthood. The faction at that time wanted to see if there were any scientific proof that Capulet and Montague mixed children were to come out with deformities or illnesses. The small government faction was made up of wealthy radicals and revolutionists, they wanted mixed families to allow themselves to be studied so they could begin integrating them into mainstream society. For their trouble, they were compensated immensely so without a doubt they agreed, for there was little to lose. The happy couple after a lengthy struggle could be married at last, the date was on June the 3rd. Soon after they were expecting a baby boy, Giotto.

The father and son functioned in society without much trouble, although the same could not be said for the mother. There were many instances when the wife could not accompany her husband to restaurants, public bathrooms or even drink off the same water fountains as the Capulets. Giotto as a child questioned why his mother never introduced herself as his mother, or why his mother would stay home when his father took him out to eat for being good. When he was much older he understood of her sacrifice, he understood what she had to give up to be with the ones she loved. Giotto's mixed blood was kept a secret from anyone that wasn't a government official, the boy's looks a blessing for he didn't resemble a Montague at the least. They kept it hidden for they didn't want Giotto to be treated poorly either, they wanted him to have what his mother couldn't have. Dignity, pride.

So the boy had no choice but to make up his mind at a young age to work hard enough to be accepted into a government/ militaristic school. In doing so he thought,  _'I could change the world,_ ' and it wasn't the money or the fame that he would get for such work that inspired him, it was the power he would gain that could change the course of a world.

Filled with childish ideals, Giotto envisioned a world often in his mind, a pretend world, in which Capulets and Montague could live together in peace and acceptance. Knowing he needed power to do so, he kept his grades in the advanced level and learned to say the correct things in front of bigots at his school, he learned how to agree with people when inside he was thinking just the opposite and his insides were twisting. The boy could grin and endure at that age of 13 all of these things, and the reason isn't a presumptions one like becoming a strong leader or a ruler, it was something much simpler.

**He merely wished to one day be able to go outside and eat with his mother in his favorite diner.**

Giotto at his military school heard many rumors as he attended daily. Like how some people held underground drug rings or how half-blood families were targeted at night. They were killed in their homes, the police not even bothering to intervene. After all, what was life for something deemed as subhuman? He was aware of how such things could happen, but he had never once thought that it would happen to him and his family. There was also a rumor going around in those times that the government was secretly recruiting people to be drafted, young people, radical people, to be subjected to a war that would last several years. A world war. Yet even with all these gossip and warnings, people refused to believe in such things, they chose to ignore that when there is a fire there is always smoke.

* * *

The 17 year old Giotto's thoughts were shattered into dust as he heard his mother let out a bloodcurdling scream, his father soon joining her in shouts of alarm. Giotto wants to go look, he wants to see what is causing his parents to behave in such a strange manner, but not while he has the infant in his arms. He curses his indecisiveness and his pride as he refuses to hide in the cupboard underneath the stairs (the one that they've always told him to use in case of emergencies). He's no coward, he says to himself, but he knows he must get there not for himself, but for the child in his arms.

He runs outside his door ignoring the screams and uproar from his parent's room and looks toward the stairs. Inside the cupboard he holds Tsunayoushi within his arms for dear life, he's no coward he repeats to himself as he breathes in heavily. His thoughts were mingling together all at once, where could he hide the child?  _If I were to engage in any sort of combat or self-defense where in the world could I hide Tsunayoushi?_ Giotto took long deep breaths inside the small cupboard, calming himself down with Tsunayoushi's smell of milk and baby powder.

After a minute's thought he quickly made up his mind. He grabbed blankets that he found stored in the cupboard to create a small nest, small enough to fit the small child in like a glove. He made it carefully, making sure it would not cause the infant to fall or to feel cold. He placed the resting Tsunayoushi on top of the small bed he made, making sure to himself that it was steady.

Opening the cupboard quietly, he left the sleeping child lie peacefully ignorant on the chaos that was about to unfold. Giotto goes to the living room, choosing to hide in back of a huge sofa as he was capable of seeing the cupboard's door if anything were to happen and as well as the view of the stairs.

' _What once was up must come down',_  he thinks to himself.

After a while he hears muffled screaming as well as urgent footsteps on the stairs, his heart beats quickly inside of him for the anticipation of what he might see terrifies him greatly.

It was worse, for imagination is never as frightening as reality.

His father and mother looked quite deranged, bleeding from various places battered and bruised. They were tied up, storming up a fight even with handkerchiefs in their mouths. They were being dragged down the stairs, being pulled around roughly by three men all the while attempting to inflict any damage that they could by flailing around helplessly. They were brought to the living room, made to kneel in the middle as if an interrogation were to take place.

"I ask you again ma'am is there someone else in this house?" The one who asked the question was a man in a sharp suit with a fedora, his presence commanding respect, his eyes clouded by the shadow of his hat. He crouches down, ripping the bloody piece of cloth from the woman's mouth. From what Giotto could see his mother was bleeding from her stomach, her eyes becoming unfocused. She ignored Reborn's questioning and merely looked at the floor breathing heavily.

"I love you all very much."

Giotto on the other side of the couch knew she was talking about him and his brother. As she spoke these words of love to the air, Giotto gripped his arms so tightly that he bled. How could he even allow his mother to be treated in such a manner!? What was the use of all his strength if he couldn't even use his strong pair of legs to move forward and help?

"What is she talking about?!" A young guy asked in annoyance, Giotto gathered was around his age, piercings on his face. "If anyone sees us we're fucked, y'know how they are about this kind of shit."

A dark haired man with a long braid tapped his ear device twice. "Camouflage, Tar, ask the three waiting in the car to check outside for any passerby, we seem to have several other people not mentioned that are living here. We saw several rooms that indicated there are others among them."

Giotto did not understand what was occurring but what he did know that if they were to touch his brother he would kill them with no remorse. A million scenarios appeared in his head, what could he use to cause a distraction? He needed to call the police, he needed to go get help.

Giotto's father spoke in between heaves, blood was in his mouth and added, "We love all of you, don't forget you're special."

"Will you shut him the fuck up!? They're creeping me out, it's like watching that creepy ass Ring movie 'Camouflage' showed me the other day." Skull groaned in annoyance. "Seriously, let's just get this over with, I am so done with this job."

Reborn sighed "Skull you are an aggravating piece of filth, you annoy the hell out of me," He said as he rubbed his temples. "Why couldn't they send us to kill you instead, they wouldn't even have to pay me. I'd do it for free."

_Sent to kill?_  Giotto's eyes became hazy.  _Are they from the Montague nation?_

"Whatever you freaking jerk! I can't stand being here in the Capulet Nation, it gives me the creeps! C'mon let's just get this over with." Skull turned around and looked sadly at the couple in front of him. He bit his lip. "You're only making them suffer more."

Reborn scoffed as Skull bent towards the man and the woman in front of him.

"Look lady and mister, I know my apology isn't worth much. Especially after everything we did to you…but I just want you to know I'm really sorry about this. We need to  **kill you** , If we don't we'd get ki—"

Not letting Skull finish Reborn shoots Giotto's father in the stomach, the blood splashing on his wife's face.

"Shutup Skull. You talk too damn much."

"Reborn you did that to spite me! You do that EVERYTIME!"

Before Tsunayoushi's mother could react to the gruesome sight in front of her, Fong was already behind her with a hold around her neck.

"I am sorry, dear. I do not usually kill women…but this…." As if it pained him more, Fong made a disgusted face as he snapped the women's neck in two, her death quick and instant.

Giotto could only stare with wide eyes, no outbursts, no movement, in that moment he was still. He was a camera, cold and observant.

"Let's leave." Fong was angry, the other two men noticed how his eyes lacked a path. "This was nothing short of distasteful."

Skull turned to Reborn. "Shouldn't we look around in case there are other's here? This job was retarded even from the start. Why the hell would they tell us to kill these two civilians anyway!?"

Reborn smacked skull in the back of the head with his gun. "You imbecile do you really believe that these two were regular civilians? I'd believe the woman was, but the man? He put up a great fight, I'm even wounded." His showed the other his bleeding shoulder as Skull grew tense…

"Reborn! Fong!  **Behind you!"**

Giotto lunged at Reborn's weak spot, plunging a knife right at the tip. Skull took advantage of Giotto distraction and quickly grabs the blonde from behind to sustain him. As soon as Giotto was in Skull's arms he begins to punch and kick, sinking his nails into the other's skin to make the other release him.

"OW! What the fuck!?" Skull falls to the floor in pain grabbing his right eye. "HE POKED MY EYE!"

Giotto in an adrenaline rush thinks he can also take on Fong. He charges for the man as fast as he can, extending his arm out to punch just like they thought him in training. He does not even reach him, as he loses his balance by Reborn's hand on his foot. The Teen collides head first onto the ground, his nose cracking because of the speed and the force of his fall.

"You must be the son of that man, you have good aim like him." The one who had tripped Giotto stood up, Reborn continued to speak as he placed a foot on the teen's back. Giotto does not say a thing, merely attempts to get up to no avail, the full weight of the man on his back.

"Reborn", Fong says quietly as he helped Skull get up. "He's but a mere child. Don't kill him, we'll take him to the orphanage on our way back."

Reborn does not respond, just tugs Giotto by the collar of his shirt effortlessly. The boy is dangling a few inches off the floor, yet his eyes do not waver. He's looking deep into Reborn's eyes as if taunting him, as if challenging him.

The Italian man smirks and punches Giotto in the face, spilling blood all over the table in the living room. The teen falls, lying on top of the table as if he were merely a bag of meat.

"Fong, if we come back with this boy at the headquarters they'd kill him." Reborn rummages through his pocket to take out a cigarette box. "If we're going to give him to an orphanage we might as well kill him, those places are shitholes."

Skull's fidgets a bit, knowing just how bad the orphanages were. "Fong, Reborn is right we can't take him to an orphanage. We can't. Let's just let him go, please Reborn. He isn't gonna hurt anybody."

The Italian man lights up a cigarette, the smell of tobacco covering up the smell of the putrid bodies decaying next to him.

"Boy, our orders were to kill the adults of this household. They were your parents weren't they? They must have pissed off someone higher up, don't make this harder on us. Now, tell us is there anyone else here at this house that we should know about?"

Giotto refuses to answer, just looks at thin air heaving in between breaths as blood continued to pour from his nose, his body aching all over.

Reborn was not a patient man. "Come out now whoever it is. Or we'll make you come out," No answer. He hands Skull the lighter that he used for his cigarette. "Here, set a fire near the stairs. That way if anyone's still up there we don't have to trouble ourselves."

Giotto sprints up quickly, surprising Skull and even Reborn. The boy was a stubborn one they mused. Fong makes no motion to stop him as the teen continues to run towards the cupboard hoping he'd reach it before the other three did.

"So there  **was** someone else here!" Skull spoke as he cornered the teen who was now covering the entrance to the door.

"No there is no one here," Giotto lied through his teeth. Cursing his mistake. "There is no one here, I'd rather die than let you three pass."

At those words Reborn smirks and trades blows with Giotto, the dark man not even breaking in sweat while the teen grinds his teeth in effort. He knows the man is leagues ahead of him in training, but nonetheless he wants to try. Giotto continues to fight for as long as his body could take him, his body lacking in real combat and due to his injuries gives in to fatigue. Reborn takes notice of this and begins to pummel Giotto mercilessly, grabbing Giotto by the head and ramming it on the wall in front of him. Blood squirted from his head , yet Giotto wants to keep on going, he doesn't want his legs to give up.

_You must fight, You must fight. You must not waver, for Tsunayoushi's sake. Think of your parents and what happened to them because you couldn't save them. Coward._

Giotto falls in humiliation, not allowing himself to shed tears for what had occurred. He will be noble through it all and remain pure, he tells himself.

* * *

Fong enters the cupboard after they tie Giotto up. Reborn and Skull keep an eye on the defeated Giotto who just glared at Fong from behind his back.

"Oh my…"Fong says quietly after some silence.

"What is it?" Reborn asks from outside the door.

"Fong?" Skull calls as his arms tighten around Giotto.

The Chinese man comes out of the cupboard looking quite flustered holding something covered in blankets, much like an egg. He gently unwraps the blanket showing Tsunayoushi's peaceful face who looked at them with curiosity and wonder.

The blood in everyone's body turned cold.

"A child? What is a child doing here?" Fong spoke in hushed whispers, as if not wanting to frighten the child. "They didn't tell me anything of this. The only thing they told us was that we would have to kill only two people tonight."

"Of course they didn't, otherwise you would have refused Mr I don't kill children policy. Honestly makes no difference to me. The only thing I expect them to do is pay me accordingly, those cheapskates will hear from me right after."

Skull throws Reborn a look of worry. "Reborn..don't kill them alright. I'll do anything, I'll clean your shoes and buy you 3 more suits just please…don't..they're only kids."

Giotto is coughing, the skin around his eyes beginning to purple. "There are more people in this house. There are five of them, I will not tell you a thing unless you unhand the infant and give him to me."

"You're a horrible liar kid."

Fong glared at Reborn, the child still in his arms. "Leave them alone Reborn. We've both been had…." The people around the Chinese man are not aware of the storm raging inside of him. Fong had reached a point in his life where he realized his thoughts were unparalleled to his actions, he found his life to be meaningless and lacking of any real direction. At that moment, he realized if he spared these children's lives that in some small way he could atone for his sins. Or so he thought.

"The infant can come with us, we could sell him to a wealthy family that can't have children." Reborn points with his thumb at Giotto. "That one can't come with us. He's too old for any orphanage, no one will want to take him in. If we try to take him with us, he'll try to kill us the moment our back is turned. Why would he want to live with someone that killed his parents?"

Giotto would rather die than allow the men in front of him to care for him, yet he bites back his pride and swallows it.  _'Don't take him, don't take him from me,'_  is what Giotto wanted to say but couldn't say. He sat properly, sitting on his knees, his hands tied behind his back. He was bleeding from his forehead as well as his nostrils, his body filled with bruises and aching all over. Even so the young teen looks elegant and his eyes do not waver. He breathes heavily thinking on the situation while staring at Tsunayoushi in the arms of the Chinese man.

' _I can't do a single thing can I? My pride doesn't allow me to go to an orphanage, I shouldn't have to be in such a position. I had parents and I'm not an orphan. My parents didn't abandon me, they were taken away from me. They were taken from me by these three men and now they want to take my brother away. If I bend backwards for these people, who's to say they wouldn't kill us once they gain our trust_?'

Giotto continued to look at the huddled child with a blank face and absolute silence.

' _If they both take us to an orphanage my brother will surely be able to become adopted. If I go with him, I surely won't. I'd have to wait one more year until I can go get him myself, then there's paper work. Then I have to quit my studies. All the hard work I paid for down the drain. I'd have to get a job and begin to support myself and as well as my brother. Will I be able to provide for Tsunayoushi? How can I be sure that Tsunayoushi won't be taken away by then? The other option is to let him be taken care of by these people, the Chinese man seems to have at least some morals. I wouldn't be with him, but at least with them I wouldn't have to worry about them having the means to financially support Tsunayoushi. There is nowhere else for me to go except to live alone, if I can't even take care of myself how can I expect to take care of my brother. There are only two choices, I take him with me or I need to leave him behind.'_

"Take him."

The light in the hallway left shadows on the group that stood near the stairs. Fong looked at the teen in front of him with a surprised expression as well as Skull, who turned to look at Giotto as if he had spoken in tongue.

"Hm," Reborn looked at the teen who held an intensity in his eyes. His words absolute. "Then say it, you need to disown him in front us. There is no taking this back, you can't ever see him again and you can't ever seek us out ever again. This night did not happen, this meeting with all of us never happened. Do you understand?"

As much as it pained Giotto to say it, he announces in front of the three men standing above him, near his baby brother and the corpses of his parents, "I don't want this child in front of me. This child is dead to me, he was never born. You can take him."

Skull hesitantly looses his grip on Giotto's arms. Taken aback from his words. Fong looked at Giotto half filled with pity, half filled with respect. He crouches down to the teenage boy and lets him look at the child one last time.

"I'm sorry, Tsunayoushi." Giotto has no tears in his eyes, just guilt and regret. "I couldn't protect you."

Reborn pulls Giotto up roughly, untying the boy yet making sure he didn't cause any trouble. Fong took this as a signal to leave the house, baby in hand. Skull walked backwards behind Fong, looking at Reborn and Giotto near the staircase.

As the two disappear, Reborn takes his wallet out from his pocket and hands wads of cash to the teenager in front of him. "This should hold you for a few months. You got good instincts, you should consider putting them to use."

Giotto makes no motion to take the other's money.

"Don't be proud you brat. I beat you fair and square didn't I? Listen, I'm letting you live." This caught the teenager's attention, the way the man with the fedora said it, it was as if Giotto owed him a favor. "This isn't what I chose, thank my colleagues. It's for their sake I'm letting you live, no one else's. Don't pry into anything that happened tonight. Your parents weren't merely some bakers, they were caught in things that they should have been more careful about. You have no one to blame but your parents and your weakness."

The man hands the now trembling teenager a case of matches and a lighter.

"Burn this house down, do not leave a trace behind. If you don't do as I say I will not hesitate to kill you or the child when I get a hold of him."

Giotto takes the items in his hands and looks at Reborn long and hard. They stared at each other for some time until Reborn throws the money he offered Giotto on the floor, turns around, walks away and does not turn back.

* * *

Giotto stands in front of his home as it is engulfed in flames. It looked like purgatory to the adolescent as he saw the house he grew up in destroyed along with the corpses of his mother and father. All of his prized collection of books, Tsunayoushi's baby crib and his first stuffed animals that they had brought on his birth night, his mother's scrapbooks that she worked on diligently, or his father's prized fishing rods, All of those things were scorched into dust. They were like memories that had been forgotten with time, disintegrating slowly. The sirens filled the city, passerby stood and looked at Giotto in worry as he fell for the first time that night down to his knees with tears on his face. He looked at his now broken home where his family used to eat in, talk together and bake in. He thinks that his education only made him unhappy at the end, it made him unhappy thinking about it—that no matter how much he worked to have changed his life( and of his family's) ,he could not change the world that surrounded him.

Giotto was on his knees crying like a lost child. His tears noble like he, he had no where to be, no where to call home. In between sobs he says to himself "I've lost  _everything._ "

He has never forgotten that night for as long as he lived.

* * *

"Mr. Giotto?"

Giotto, now an adult blinks with tears in his eyes. He has no idea why he had just thought of those memories. He was no longer in front of an inferno, he was in the middle of a garden patch in a children's school. It was a beautiful day and his brother was not lost to him for he was right in front of him.

Tsunayoushi looked at the man peculiarly," Why are you crying? Does your tummy hurt?"

"Ah," Giotto begins to wipe his tears with his pocket handkerchief. "I…I just remembered something hurtful from the past. There's no need for you to worry."

For some odd reason as the birds begin to chirp, the little boy visions his Aunt Luce crying as she had spoiled the fish at the market that one day, or the way in the morning his Uncles and Aunties told him he could never see Aunt Viper ever again.

Tsunayoushi asks the adult, "Is it something you can't get back?"

"Yes…" The noble man says, "I can never get them back."

At those words, the child decides he cannot take the gardener looking so sad. So he does what he thinks is best, like when he plays house with his kitten Nuts, and gets up to give the man a hug.

"Don't be sad , everything will be ok."

As the tiny hands stroked Giotto's hair in that sunlit garden, the man thought to himself that truly, everything would be alright.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you.


End file.
